Mosquitoes invade Blantyre

Blantyre city has been invaded by mosquitoes, but the Blantyre City Council (BCC) says there is no need to panic as the type of mosquitoes are only a nuisance, which cannot transmit malaria.

BCC public relations manager Anthony Kasunda said they have noted the increase of mosquitoes, adding that this year has particularly been the worst.

“It is obvious that the increase is as a result of pollution in rivers such as Mudi. So, our immediate action would be to clean the bushes along Mudi and other rivers in the city and around dams; and reduce stagnant water bodies,” he said.

Kasunda, however, said fumigation would be the last resort because the council tries to use environmentally friendly chemicals; hence, it would use environmental friendly methods.

“The important thing is to stop their breeding. We can only achieve that if we work with communities to clean bushes along rivers and around dams.

“Residents should also endeavour to keep their surroundings clean and free from stagnant waters,” he said.

While admitting to BCC’s challenges in resource constraints, Kasunda asked residents to utilise their Pest Control Unit to buy chemicals and hire officers: “at a reasonable fee to fumigate our houses.”

“Indoor residual spray is one of the most effective measures to deal with not only mosquitoes, but also other pests in the house,” he said.

On the issue of uncollected garbage and haphazard dumping of rubbish, Kasunda said: “The issue of garbage management in the city should not be left to the council alone. As residents, we have a role to play. The challenge has been that our vehicles sometimes cannot go to each and every street in our locations because of the size of the vehicle.

“Our plea to every household is that they should be placing the garbage bins at strategic places where the vehicles can easily reach for collection. We will continue collecting garbage in our locations but definitely, it cannot be door to door.”

Blantyre was last fumigated in 2012.