CMO says no Aedes Aegypti Mosquitoes in La Valle Ponds

ZIZ News — Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin, has described claims listed in a petition which blames man-made ponds at La Valle for helping to spread the chikungunya virus as false.

The Hon. Shawn Richards and members of the Sandy Point community have claimed the ponds are breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the virus.

Dr. Martin told ZIZ this claim is untrue because that species of mosquito does not live in ponds or swamps.

“It is natural that people would think that a mosquito is a mosquito but there are different species of mosquitoes and they have different habitats. And so the science is that the ponds at La Valle, and when I say science I mean they have been tested and checked….the ponds at La Valle or ponds anywhere else do not have the dengue and chikungunya mosquitoes,” he said.

He said the Aedes Aegypti mosquito lives in and around the areas where fresh water can collect. Dr. Martin added that the best way to stop the spread of the chikungunya virus is by destroying the mosquito’s preferred breeding sites.