Mosquito traps are being used to keep off mosquitoes in the Cedros region as fears of Zika worsened following an influx of Venezuelan nationals at the Cedros port. Immigration officials said an average of 75 foreigners came to the port every two days and 98 per cent of them returned to their homeland.
Cedros councillor, Ramesh Sewnal, said Cedros recorded its first case of malaria recently even though the region did not have the mosquito which transmits malaria. This caused worry as Venezuela has been known to have outbreaks of viruses such as Zika, chikungunya, malaria and dengue fever, Sewnal said.
Julio Castro, a professor of tropical epidemiology at the Central University of Venezuela, has estimated that roughly 400,000 people may have been infected with the Zika virus in Venezuela.
During a press conference in Cedros yesterday, chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC), Leo Doodnath, said the increase in Venezuelan foreigners to Trinidad posed serious public health risks.
Following a meeting with officials of Immigration, Customs, Coast Guard, police and health professionals, including public health expert Alderman Dr Shaun Ramroop, community activist Alderman Shankar Teeluchsingh and Sewnal, Doodnath said steps were being taken to prevent a looming public health crisis.
“Earlier today officials of the County Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) Division met with officials of the port of Cedros to discuss the increase of Venezuelans coming to our port in Cedros,” he added. He said the port was not equipped to deal with the influx of foreigners.
“We have public and port health concerns, security and safety, social, environmental and economic issues so we got the local authorities together to discuss how can we deal with new challenges that we are faced with,” Doodnath said.
Saying Cedros has one of the highest population of adult mosquitos, Doodnath said the corporation planned to instal mosquito vector traps in the district to prevent any potential outbreak of viruses.
“The mosquito trap once installed will attract mosquitoes within a radius of one acre. The technology behind the trap is it operates with propane and mimics a human being in terms of the temperature and carbon dioxide,” Doodnath explained. The traps, worth $14,000 each, were installed at the Cedros Police Station.
Doodnath said the business community had been well prepared for the arrival of the Venezuelans as shops were now being stocked with supplies.
Meanwhile, Dr Ramroop said some of the Venezuelans may have no symptoms but could be carriers of disease, such as chikungunya, Zika and dengue. Saying proper screening was needed, Ramroop said the SRC was in the process of purchasing infra-red thermometers to determine whether someone had a fever.
“This is an instant indication of a virus to have them medically checked. We will also get disposal items for public health inspectors, port health officers and Immigration officers,” Ramroop said.
Meanwhile, more than 150 Venezuelans were seen sitting on the floor of the port yesterday awaiting departure. Some of them said they were facing hardship in Venezuela and did not want to face discrimination in Trinidad.