Day 4 (17.2.11) - Goodbye Mosquitoes

by Tineshwary Tannimalai

The day started very early for us. By now, we are use to getting up early in the morning and an hour journey has been a routine for us. With fresh minds, spirit and excitement, we headed to Alor Setar.

~ on the way to Alor Setar ~

As usual, by 8am we were already at the DHO. Our activities for the day started at the Vector Unit office room. We attended a meeting among the Vector Unit staffs chaired by Mr. Lai (Head of Vector Unit). He divided them into few groups and gave them tasks such as larvaciding to kill Aedes mosquito larvae, conduct survey and collecting larvae. All of us were excited when we got the opportunity to follow the staffs to the respective sites. It was a pleasant surprise and fortune for us to go for our second outdoor field work after the school visit on the previous day.

~ meeting at Vector Unit office room ~

~ group members in the meeting ~

 We were split into 2 groups. Gomalaa’s group went to the Polis Quarters at Taman Derga Jaya (I was in this group); whereas Kisheaan’s group went to housing area of Taman Sentosa. Then on, till lunch break, we were at two different sites. Both the groups left the DHO by 9am.

~ Aedes mosquito models used for educational purposes ~

 At Taman Derga Jaya, Mr. Anwar explained to us about the chemical which is used for destroying larvae.  “Abate” is a liquid based insecticide (composition-1ml Abate in 8L water). Spraying with Abate will destroy larvae unlike fogging which will destroy mosquitoes but not larvae. Spraying with Abate can be done at any time, whereas fogging is usually done at early morning and late evening. He also told us that mosquitoes only breed in stagnant, clear water. Also, he said that the public has misinterpretation that mosquitoes breed in dirty water such as in a drain. Therefore, the public need to be educated regarding this matter.Survey or sampling of larvae usually done in areas where dengue is endemic, dengue cases have been reported in the past or where there has been a report of a case of dengue. Each house was being survey by our health officers with the resident’s permission. They will look for any clean water retention area at both inside and outside the house. If there is any, they will take the water sample and send it to laboratory for confirmation of the species, either Aedes Aygepti or Aedes Albopictus. If it is confirmed to be of such Aedes species, the authority will take action towards the owner of the house by compounding them RM 500. Besides that, they also will advice them not to repeat again and keep their house clean.

~ at Taman Derga Jaya ~

~ preparation of larvacide ~

~ larvacide being sprayed around the area ~

As for the second group, Mr.Abu Bakar briefed them about their activity there. Then, they were sub-divided into 4 groups and carried out the Aedes survey. Such survey is the done if there was any case of dengue fever reported on the day before. For every reported case, survey is done at area comprising 200m around the residence of the patient. If there is an outbreak in the area, which means more than 2 cases reported, survey is done 400m around the area. The health officers along with our group members when door-to-door looking for any possible site for mosquito breeding. Also, they provided pamphlets and larvacides to every home to create awareness among the people there.

~ at Taman Sentosa ~

~ pamphlet & larvacide sachet distributed to the people ~

~ possible sites for  Aedes mosquito breeding ~

By 11am, both groups were back at the DHO. We then had a briefing by Mr. Ooi (Head of Verification Team, Communicable Disease Control-CDC Unit) regarding communicable disease. He told us about the notification system. Notification should be done by a physician within 24 hours either by phone or by filling up notification form. All the notification will be sent to DHO. Hand, foot and mouth disease can be notified without sample for laboratory testing. Whereas TB, syphilis and chancroid will be notified only with sample.

We had quite a long lunch break from 12.10pm onwards. Today, we resorted to a food court in City Plaza. Variety of Malay food was available there. Nelson enjoyed his Nasi Goreng Pataya while some of us ordered Ais Kacang. Then, we went window-shopping at Popular Bookstore beside the food court.

~ at CDC Unit office room ~

We were back at DHO around 2.20pm. We had briefing by Mr. Samsol Anuar bin Husin (Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran) on behalf of Mr.Ooi regarding communicable disease. He briefed us on e-notification system which makes the data regarding communicable disease easier to record, view and update.

~ with Mr.Samsol Anuar at CDC Unit office room ~

Our afternoon session ended early today as on Thursdays, office hours in Kedah is only up to 3.30pm. As usual, the day was hectic for us, however we enjoyed it.