Seaview joins dengue fight

Residents of Seaview Gardens in St Andrew are breathing a sigh of relief after the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) removed heaps of garbage from the community on Saturday.

The clean-up was prompted by the MOHW's declaration of a dengue outbreak on the island.

"It's an islandwide initiative, and we are partnering with the Government to rid communities of bulky waste because of the dengue outbreak. We are in dialogue with the Ministry of Health, they have advised us of some areas that are higher at risk for dengue," Aretha McFarlane, operations officer at the NSWMA, told THE STAR.

Several residents joined forces with representatives of the agencies to rid their area of bulky waste, such as old fridges, furniture and tyres.

"Dengue is out and as you know, the Aedes aegypti mosquito can breed even in as small as a bottle cork, so we are asking residents to play their part as we try to rid their community of anything that could contribute to mosquito breeding," McFarlane said.

For their part, residents of Seaview Gardens welcomed the removal of the solid waste. George Williams, who has been living at Black Sea Drive for 40 years, shared his excitement.

"A whole heap of old things is all over the place and they gather water and breed up mosquitoes. We have nuff mosquitoes. By around 6 o'clock mosquitoes swarm out here. If I stay outside I have to light the [mosquito] destroyer," he said.

Allorine Campbell, a resident for over 12 years, was glad to see truckloads of solid waste being removed from Seaview Gardens.

"We have been wanting this for a long time," she said. "As you can see, there is a lot of debris in the community, and now that there is a dengue outbreak I am a bit worried because a lot of kids are in the scheme. Right now, I asked the truckmen to come back because we still have a lot of things," she added.

The dengue virus is spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. Breeding sites include areas with stagnant water, such as puddles, water tanks, containers and old tyres.