Mosquito mismanagement?

Bangladesh is at war with mosquitoes, and the mosquitoes are winning. Since 2000, public health officials in Bangladesh say nearly 160,000 people have contracted malaria and dengue fever carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The mosquito problem is particulady acute in the densely populated capital city of Dhaka, and the Dhaka city hall, known as the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), has faced intense criticism for its inability to control the mosquito problem.

Qamar Banu, an entomologist at Chittagong University, says dengue fever has been a threat for several years, but with continued government inaction and mismanagement, the problem is getting worse. "The city government isn't doing what needs to be done to control the mosquito population," she says. Manjur A. Chowdhury, an entomologist and CEO of Safeway Pest Control in Dhaka, further says, "The authorities have had no effective plan of action."

Bangladeshi entomologists have long advocated an integrated approach to the country's mosquito problem. As Chowdhury explains, "The integrated approach would be part of a national plan involving changing the environment in which the mosquito breeds, while educating the public through an aggressive media education campaign that they can play an important role in controlling the mosquito population."

In contrast, critics say the DCC has failed to clean up nearly 2,400 acres of water bodies, including derelict ponds, polluted canals, and stagnant drains, that serve as a safe haven for mosquito breeding. Last November, the city terminated its Aedes Mosquito Surveillance Project with no explanation. This program was playing a vital role in detecting problem breeding sites in Dhaka. And the public has not been made aware of how their habits--such as keeping open containers of water and allowing water to pool in discarded tires--creates mosquito breeding grounds, says Sadia Ahmad, an entomologist at Jahangirnagar University.

Last March, Dhaka's mayor announced that the city would launch an aerial insecticide spraying program involving the use of just over US$327,000 worth of insecticide and covering 360 square kilometers within the Dhaka city limit. Scientists and health officials said the program would endanger public health with widespread pesticide exposures while increasing the pollution of Dhaka's air, already considered among the worst in Asia. Entomologist Touhid Uddin Ahmed, the now-retired principal scientific officer of the Bangladesh Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research, points out, "Most importantly, the aerial spraying would not reach most of the mosquito breeding sites inside the city." He adds, "No country that I'm aware of uses aerial spraying as a regular management tool for mosquito control."

Under intense pressure, the city suspended its aerial spraying program in April and announced it will privatize its mosquito control program in phases. Private companies will run mosquito control programs in 90 city wards, and they can use the city's spray workers and equipment. Many feel these companies will outperform the DCC. "Solving the mosquito problem isn't going to be easy, but it can better be done through the private sector," says Chowdhury, whose company has tendered a bid.