DNCC tested wrong mosquito for 5yrs
For the past five years, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has been conducting its mosquito eradication programs to combat dengue by testing insecticides on Culex mosquitoes rather than Aedes mosquitoes, according to findings from an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) raid.
ACC officials conducted a daylong raid at DNCC’s office on Thursday. Following the operation, the commission stated it found no documentation showing that any testing had been conducted on Aedes mosquitoes – the species responsible for transmitting dengue.
The raid came a week after a similar operation was carried out at Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
ACC Assistant Director Raju Ahmed said that despite the persistent dengue outbreak, the city corporation had, every year from 2022 through the current year, tested Malathion insecticide on Culex mosquitoes instead of Aedes before implementing field-level mosquito control programs.
He further stated that in 2023, an insecticide called BTI, reportedly imported from Singapore, was in fact a Chinese product.
The raid also revealed that while excess fees were being charged to households for waste collection beyond the fixed rate, the city corporation exercised no oversight or control over the matter.
The ACC team noted that a handful of firms had repeatedly secured contracts to supply mosquito insecticides, raising suspicions among investigators.
Officials said they would recommend the commission take appropriate action on these irregularities.
However, DNCC’s Chief Health Officer, Brigadier General Imrul Kayes Chowdhury, denied the allegations.
He claimed that testing is conducted on both Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, but since Culex mosquitoes are far more numerous, they appear more prominently in samples. He asserted that the insecticides used by the city corporation are 100 percent effective in mosquito control.
Meanwhile, the dengue situation across the country remains a serious concern.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), eight more people died of dengue while 1,782 new patients were admitted to hospitals nationwide during the 24-hour period ending at 8 am Thursday.
Among the latest fatalities, three deaths each were reported in Dhaka South City Corporation and Khulna division, while Dhaka North City Corporation and Mymensingh division each recorded one death.
With these latest deaths, the national dengue death toll has climbed to 209 this year. Since January 1, a total of 69,149 dengue patients have been hospitalized across the country, of whom 63,874 have fully recovered.
Experts say the revelation that city corporations have spent years testing insecticides on the wrong mosquito species raises fresh questions about the effectiveness of their mosquito control efforts – and may help explain why dengue outbreaks have continued largely unchecked despite year-round spraying campaigns.
