MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Montevideo wages sanitary war against mosquitoes

People should wear long-sleeved shirts, and long pants “because we have no choice,” Rousserie said

Montevideo City authorities are upping precautions in the presence of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. City Health Director Hugo Rousserie urged residents to take measures and explained that critical places where puddles appear, such as cemeteries, were monitored closely.

“We are doing actions throughout the city at all times, which are very diverse, first monitoring actions, this involves having traps arranged throughout the city as ovitraps, designed for mosquitoes to lay their eggs, we count how many eggs each mosquito lays in each one and depending on the density of eggs are the decisions we make concerning how to manage the state of affairs in the specific area monitored,” said Rousserie.

“We are permanently monitoring the critical points of the city, which are junkyards, garbage stores, cemeteries, [all] places where water accumulates,” he went on. “We go out to territory to place larvicide products in storm drains, in some fountains, lagoons, and that way we make part of our focal war.”

“What we can do in our homes is that there is no type of water source suitable and conducive for the larvae to develop, and also protect ourselves with the elements we have at hand,” said the director. He also suggested Montevideo residents put sand in flower vases and not water because they are mosquito breeding sites, in addition to using repellent, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants “because we have no choice.”

“Especially at times of the day when mosquito activity is much higher. At those times we must try to defend ourselves and not get bitten,” Rousserie also explained.