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Lagosians At The Mercy Of Mosquitoes Upsurge

By Joseph Okoghenun
30 January 2016   |   1:37 am
ALTHOUGH it was 2 am, Mrs. Kemi Edoboh noticed that all the members of her household had not slept. The next day, Kemi, like every member of her household, tried to review her lifestyle and check her blood pressure level.

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ALTHOUGH it was 2 am, Mrs. Kemi Edoboh noticed that all the members of her household had not slept. The next day, Kemi, like every member of her household, tried to review her lifestyle and check her blood pressure level. Everything seemed normal.The whether has been clement and electricity supply has not been disappointing in the preceding nights.

After thinking for hours, the Edobohs, who resides in Yaba, Lagos, found the factor responsible for their sleepless nights: unusual mosquitoes outbreak and bites in their neighborhoods.

Like the Edobohs, many Lagos residents are currently battling with upsurge of mosquitoes in their apartments.
Even though it is often believed that mosquitoes do not thrive in dry seasons, Lagos residents are being harassed by upsurge of mosquitoes in their homes and open places.

Mrs. Regina Ahaotu,who lives in Bariga, Lagos, told The Guardian that she was frightened by the unusual number of mosquitoes in her apartment. Ahaotu, who is six months pregnant, added that the mosquitoes outbreak and the nuisance they cause have often prevented her from having a restful-night sleep.

Mr David Adeyemi, radiographer in one of the private hospitals in Lagos, revealed that he has also noticed that his two-year-old insecticide treated net (ITN) lacks the capacity to restrict these set of mosquitoes. “ For the first time in a long while, I now see mosquitoes in my ITN,” he told The Guardian. “To reduce these set of mosquitoes, I am forced to use mosquitoes bat. But whenever I used it, it is as if were playing. For each one I kill, I see a double of that number flying over my head. In as much as I am afraid of having malaria from these mosquitoes’ bites, I fear more for my under-5 children,”Adeyemi said.

When contacted, Consultant Medical Parasitologist and Associate Professor at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos (CMUL), Dr Wellington Oyibo, a malaria expert, told The Guardian that there was nothing unusual about the current mosquitoes outbreak, adding that current mosquitoes in circulation lack enough capacity to inflict malaria harm on the populace.
Oyibo, however, caution that the mosquitoes can cause yellow fever and other viral infections.

Oyibo said: “The observation is right, because I am feeling it as well.We have different kinds and species of mosquitoes. The ones that transmit malaria are female anopheles species. There is what we called bi-modal transmission. Soon or later, we shall enter the raining season where we shall be having bleeding of these anopheles mosquitoes when it rains.

“The species of mosquitoes you see around now are not anopheles mosquitoes, but quelles. You find it coming from the drains and other areas where you have dirty waters. Dry season used to bring up these population of mosquitoes in large numbers. But people are going to be having irritation from the mosquito; it will disturb their sleeps.

“Therefore, for now, we are not expecting high transmission of malaria. What people can have is nuisance from the bite of the mosquitoes. But the mosquitoes can transmit yellow fever and other viral diseases, if they are available in the population.But basically, there is no fear for malaria; this is a low transmission for malaria in Lagos state.”

On what could be done to reduce the number of the mosquitoes, Oyibo said: “People should clear their drains, because these are the ones you see in dirty waters. And people should also use insecticide mechanism, and sleep under Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN). Lagos residents should close their doors all the time to prevent these mosquitoes from coming in.”

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