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Tsunami left mosquitoes behind
11/08/2005 18:33 - (SA)
New Delhi - Indian entomologists warned on Thursday, after touring the Andaman Islands, that the tsunami that devastated the Indian Ocean archipelago had paved the way for malarial attacks on survivors.
Scientists from India's state-run Vector Control Research Centre said the malarial risk was high in the Andaman and Nicobar islands despite efforts by local authorities to kill mosquitoes, reported the Press Trust of India.
Entomologist K Krishnamoorthy said after touring some of the archipelago's 36 inhabited islands that saltwater intrusion during the December 26 tsunamis had created breeding grounds.
"We found the anopheles sundaicus mosquito, the local carrier of the malaria parasite, in 19 of the habitats surveyed.
"Unlike other malarial mosquitoes, this species can lay its eggs in salt water as well as in fresh water," said Krishnamoorthy.
The expert said large-scale destruction of cattle by the December 26 tidal waves added to the health risk in the lush green islands.
"The area is densely-populated, with houses close to flooded fields.
This, and lack of cattle which the mosquitoes might otherwise bite, can lead to more contact between people and insects and increase the threat of a malaria outbreak," he said.
"Already there are indications that the risk has increased.
9 500 aftershocks
"The proportion of human blood samples infected with malaria increased nearly six fold in the three months following the tsunamis," PTI quoted Krishnamoorthy as saying.
The Andamans were ravaged by the tsunami which devastated coastlines across Asia and killed 217 000 people - about 5 500 in the archipelago alone.
According to Indian seisomologists, the islands have had about 9 500 aftershocks of varying intensity since December, plus a number of tsunami alerts which turned out to be false alarms.
- AFP
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