Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The residents of the Bride of the Red Sea, as they like to call their coastal city, have expressed fears of mosquito stings that may cause the spread of several contagious diseases including malaria, dengue fever and the Zika virus which is rapidly spreading in Latin America. The residents are skeptical that Zika may come to their city by a passenger coming from Brazil or any other South American country. Adil Solaiman, a resident of Bani Malik District, asked the municipality to double its efforts in fighting the mosquitos especially after it has been discovered that they are the main cause of Zika. "The virus may come with any passenger who is arriving in the Kingdom from any country where Zika has been reported," he said. Mohammed Flimban, another resident, criticized the municipality for not doing enough to fight the mosquitos. "The municipality's efforts in this aspect are weak otherwise how can the dengue fever live among us for many years," he questioned. Abdul Rahman Hamza said while many poor countries have succeeded in getting rid of the mosquitos, we are still laboring to do this without any success. "This matter needs a completely new remedy. The mosquitos have lived among us for many long years," he said. The municipality, on its part, said it is doing its utmost to rid the city of the mosquitos through a program titled: "fighting the mosquitos at homes" It, however, said many residents keep their water containers open which leads to the breeding and multiplication of mosquitos. According to the municipality, the six districts which have the largest number of mosquitos are Bani Malik, Ghulail, Al-Jamia, Al-Balad, Al-Bawadi and Aziziyah. The municipality said it sprays all the districts twice a week with insecticides and added that the branch municipalities are also intensifying their efforts to fight the mosquitos. According to the municipality, the moderate weather causes breeding of mosquitos especially the aedes aegypti which causes Zika. It said it is using environment-friendly sprays.
