Check your lifestyle between 6:00pm & 10:00pm – entomologist urges

An entomologist at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has advised Ghanaians to check their lifestyles between the hours of 6:00pm and 10:00pm as it has been found to be the period mosquito bites hit the peak. “The peak hours for mosquito bites ranges from 6:00pm to 10:00pm and most of the biting occurs outdoor. The public should take note and watch their lifestyle during these hours,” Dr Kwadwo Kyereme Frempong stated. Speaking at a larval source management training programme for environmental health officers of Zoomlion, Ghana Health Service and the District Assemblies in the Northern Region, he said anopheles, aedes and curex mosquitoes have become public health concern. The training, which was conducted by Noguchi, was under the auspices of the Vector Control Unit of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Ministry of Health with support from the National Malaria Control Programme. Participants were trained in how to implement and monitor larvae source management, mapping of water bodies and targeting main mosquito breeding sites to reduce mosquito population. Mosquitoes are considered one of the deadliest insects in the world, and more than half of the world’s population lives in areas where mosquitoes that transmit diseases are. Dr Frempong thus underscored the need to sustain mosquito control to prevent outbreak of diseases. He said the malaria control operatives will use bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti), which has been recommended by WHO as an efficient biological agent against mosquito larvae. A social and behaviour change communication expert, Madam Muniratu Venu, who taught the participants about the need to utilise local channels to engage community members to win their support for the exercise. The Head of Vector Control Unit of Zoomlion, Rev. Ebenezer Kwame Addae said the training will be conducted in all the regions to equip participants with scientific knowledge on effective larval source management to help reduce mosquito population. By 3news.com|Ghana]]>