Muscat Municipality has urged people to allow task teams to enter homes, facilities and residential units so they can conduct control operations to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquito in Muscat.
Muscat Municipality stresses the need to exert integrated efforts to make this campaign a success and calls on not to spread rumours and join hands with work teams to achieve the ultimate goal of this campaign.
The municipality also calls on all citizens and residents in the areas of South and North Maabela, North and South Al Hail, South Al Mawaleh, Al Khoud, Sur Al Hadid, and the wilayats of Muttrah and Bausher to cooperate with the control teams and facilitate their entry into homes, noting that the campaign will continue until May 28, 2023, from 7 am to 11 pm, and between 3 pm and 6 pm.
The campaign aims to eradicate the mosquito and its breeding sites through investigation and exploration programmes carried out on an ongoing basis, in addition to focusing on fighting the incubators for the growth of mosquito larvae.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito multiplies through female mosquitoes that lay eggs in stagnant water, causing the spread of infections of Dengue fever, yellow fever and the Zika virus. Dengue fever is one of the viral diseases transmitted by the female Aedes aegypti, the symptoms of which are fever, headache, severe fatigue, skin rash, digestive upset, and joint and muscle pain.
Control methods depend on taking preventive measures such as installing nets that prevent insects from entering through home windows and getting rid of old tires and containers and small pots in which water collects. Prevention can also be done by constantly cleaning fountains and sealing leaks from sewage vents, and taking care of regular maintenance of drinking water coolers and cleaning them.
The campaign will include getting rid of the causes of mosquito breeding, such as cleaning and drying basins, fountains, and food and drink bowls of animals or birds, and getting rid of the accumulation of waste and building materials inside the house.
The teams also use pesticides as chemical control for the breeding grounds of the larvae. A number of modern devices and equipment are used, such as thermal (smoke) and cold (micro-spray) fogging machines, and pyrethroid pesticides, which are approved by the World Health Organization, in addition to silicone oil, which acts as a surface insulator above the water.
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