As concern grows over the spread of dengue nationally, president of the South Oropouche Riverine Flood Action Group (SORFAG) Edward Moodie plans to reintroduce predatory animal species into several acres of lagoons to disrupt the insect’s breeding in Woodland.

When Newsday visited the community on July 7, Moodie said the mosquito population had skyrocketed and hundreds of people were at risk of contracting dengue.

Woodland residents contracting dengue fever

Residents along the Pluck Road area could list almost half a dozen names of people in their community who were diagnosed with dengue and almost double that for those with symptoms but not formally determined.

Among the concerned residents was Tara Jaglal, who fears her eight-year-old granddaughter may be one of the latest victims after she began suffering from a high fever and headaches on Saturday night.

“Right now, we have pawpaw (papaya) leaf and I trying to make something for her to drink.”

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito. Endemic to TT for over 30 years, dengue fever is characterised by a sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands and a rash that appears three to four days after the fever starts. Papaya leaf tea is an alternative medicine often used to treat the condition.

Tara and her husband, Roy, have lived in the community for 43 years. Surrounded by a lagoon, they said mosquitoes have always been an issue during the rainy season but believe it was worse this year.

“It always have mosquitoes in Woodland, you know, but the amount this time is a big big difference. I don’t know where all them mosquito come out from,” Roy said.

“We always have the door closed, day and night. We can’t open it in the day because you fraid they come in inside... so you always have the place close up, lighting cockset (mosquito coils) and buying a lot of creams to rub in our hand and foot and thing.”

Lack of spraying

According to residents, there are at least four cases of people with dengue in Tennant Trace, Pluck Road, with at least one contracting the disease within the last week.

Donna Ramcharran has bought various chemicals to spray around her home to protect her daughter, who suffers from a medical condition which places her at high risk for an adverse outcome should she contract dengue. “I went and I buy malathion to spray around my house plus I buy a medication to spray inside my house for the mosquitoes.

[caption id="attachment_1094866" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Tara Jaglal boils pawpaw leaves to make medicine to combat dengue at her Woodland home on July 7. - Photo by Venessa Mohammed[/caption]

“Nobody coming to spray, so we have to do that just to prevent our families from getting sick because to stay in the hospital is a whole long drama by itself. When my daughter staying, I have to stay too because she’s underage.”

Jaglal also complained that they had not benefitted