Administration report of the Public Health Department of the City of Port-of-Spain.

  • Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1956]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Administration report of the Public Health Department of the City of Port-of-Spain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/66 (page 15)
    In fact foci in vases, antiformicas, old bottles, in water contained in receptacles of various kinds are furnishing the main source of mosquito nuisance that gives rise to persistent complaints at the Department, and though householders often express great surprise when this fact is demon¬ strated to them, they are beginning to appreciate the fact that it is only rigid adherence to the technique laid down and only by a careful examination of all potential breeding places that these obscure foci can be detected and eliminated. Eaves gutters also quite often supply the answer to the breeding places of adults that fly about the house and are a cause of nuisance to the householder and the ladder squads of the anti-mosquito unit are kept quite busy in inspecting and examining eaves gutters, emptying them of stagnant water, clearing them of bush and other causes of obstruc¬ tion, punching holes in them, and often even regrading them. This question of eaves gutters is a source of worry to the Public Health Department and in spite of the fact that they are generally frowned upon by the City Engineer’s Department, special permission having to be obtained for their erection, it is the rule rather than the exception for the builder to take the law in his own hands and to attach them to the roof without any permission whatsoever. As in all such matters, when once they have been put up, it is an extremely difficult job to get them taken down. As a matter of fact eaves gutters are hardly ever necessary and in nine cases out of ten where resort is had to their use an alternative and sometimes even a cheaper solution can usually be found. Getting rid of the other species of mosquito—culex, is also not such an easy matter, particularly in the first half of the year when water is at a premium. In the dry season the underground drains tend to remain unflushed for days and even weeks, and blocked as they are by accumulations of all sorts, water that gets into them remains stagnant furnishing ideal breeding grounds for culex fatigans. Blocked underground drains, watery cesspits, in fact dirty stagnant pools of water anywhere furnish the usual sources of breeding for this species of mosquito. Larval Index Premises with mosquito larvae per cent, of number visited Yearly average 1938-1942 ... ... ... ... ... 2.1 Year 1943 ... ... ... ... ... 3.3 1944 ... ... ... ... ... 5.4 1945 ... ... ... ... ... 6.9 1946 ... ... ... ... ... 7.3 1947 ... ... ... ... ... 5.8 1948 ... ... ... ... ... 4.4 1949 ... ... ... ... ... 4.4 1950 ... ... ... ... ... 4.6 1951 .4.5 1952 ... ... ... ... ... 3.8 1953 ... ... ... ... ... 4.8 1954 ... ... ... ... ... 1.5 1955 ... ... ... ... ... 0.6 1956 ... ... ... ... ... 0.6 Inspection of Eaves Gutters, Etc., 1956 Number of inspections of premises ... ... ... ... 156,342 Number of inspections of eaves gutters ... ... ... ... 36,261 Number of occasions found in good order ... ... ... ... 34,835 Number of occasions found defective ... ... ... ... 1,426 Number of occasions found containing water only ... ... ... 1,203 Number of occasions found containing water and larvae ... ... 223 ♦Number of occasions mosquito larvae were found in tubs, antiformicas, tin cans, &c. Yards cleared of receptacles N B_*Occasions on which mosquito larvae were found by sanitary inspectors, during the course of 91,162 inspections of premises, are included in above figure.