Report on Cuban BTI bacteria submitted
By Ishtartha Wellaboda(Bottom Line)
The technical committee report on the Cuban BTI bacteria is scheduled to be handed over today. Speaking to The Bottom Line, Acting Secretary General of the Health Ministry, Dr. Nihal Jayathilake said that once the report was handed over to him, the Ministry would forward it to the tender board for further approval.
He also added that the Health Ministry has already allocated over Rs.85 million out of the 500 million that is set aside by the Health Ministry’s budget to battle dengue in order to purchase 30,000 litres of the chemical.
The technical report is compiled by a special committee led by the Deputy Director General of Public Health Services, Dr. Palitha Mahipala and other qualified doctors.
Once the bacteria is imported, the Health Ministry hopes to conduct a series of trial field tests where they will introduce the bacteria to water tanks and water gathering cisterns in the Akurana, Kandy, Tangalle and Gampola areas.
Health officials believe that dengue mosquitoes have been breeding quite easily in these areas inside special cisterns that are used to gather and store water. Since general water supply to these areas are less frequent, people use open tanks to gather and store water. They plan to test the bacteria on these water storage systems in order to test the bacteria’s capability to fight dengue in Sri Lanka.
However, some health officials have already warned that applying the chemical to every possible breeding place of dengue mosquitoes like used tins and coconut shells might prove to be impractical.
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Dear Colleagues,
What is the role of the GMOA in issues related to the public.Should we intervene or keep away from such topics?
What is your opinion ?.
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