War on Dengue and Chikungunya: that’s the new slogan to combat the chikungunya outbreak in Malaysia.
So who are Malaysians fighting against? Mosquitoes! Not aedes mosquitoes that cause dengue fever, not malaria mosquitoes that luckily aren’t here but: chikungunya causing aedes mosquitos.
The good news
Chikungunya is not as deadly as dengue fever… Nevertheless you will feel very sick as if you have dengue fever.
As we mentioned above: it’s the same aedes mosquito spreading dengue as well as chikungunya.
So the only good thing you can say when you have chikungunya is: thank God this aedes mosquito wasn’t carrying dengue!
Mosquito Awareness
Although I haven’t had anybody on my doorstep explaining me how to combat mosquitoes, the radio is boosting a heavy mosquito awareness campaign these days.
And as you can see in the picture: Malaysia is really fogging heavily: I couldn’t see anything anymore out of my window once the fogging people passed by. All free, as normally they bother to ask you to pay, pretending they were a private company.
Fogging only kills adult aedes mosquitoes
Although now fogging is increased, this only kills the adult mosquitoes. Which means the eggs and larvae that are in water will still survive. It’s these "babies" that make the war against aedes mosquito’s only possible if we eliminate water at our premises.
Standing water provides an excellent environment for aedes mosquitoes to breed. To control mosquitoes do eliminate sources of standing water outside your home:
Drain or remove water-holding containers such as:
- dishes beneath flower pots : that’s where I found my aedes mosquito larvae
- buckets : even if you turn them upside down: the larvae only need 1 drop of water in order to become a mosquito
- rain barrels
- leaky outdoor faucets
- toys or garbage that holds water
- cans
- bottles
- clogged rain gutters
- wading pools
- boats
- plastic covers and tarps
Remove old tires and plug tree holes and stumps, as these can also be popular breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Also, be sure to routinely change the water in pet dishes and birdbaths.
The bad news: chikungunya outbreak
Chikungunya is but the latest in a long line of diseases carried by mosquitoes, which include Malaria, Dengue Fever, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, and the West Nile Encephalitis and causing 1 million deaths worldwide.
In 2007: Malaysia reported 200 chikungunya cases. In 2008: more than 3700 cases have occurred.
Today it has risen to 100 chikungunya cases per week.
For those visiting Malaysia
Please cover yourself from 17.00pm till 09.00am and use as much mosquito-repellant as possible! The dengue and chikungunya outbreak is here to stay.
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