Civic bodies instructed on ways to control pests

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs recently issued directives to the mayoralties and municipalities across the Kingdom regarding procedures to deal with harmful pests.
In its statement to the municipalities, the ministry highlighted the need to activate the environmental sanitation project to combat public health pests, which is standard procedure. The plan combats various types of insects and rodents focusing on those that threaten the health of citizens and residents.
The ministry urged the relevant parties to coordinate with the Public Health Department in order to benefit from its experience. A recent government statement encouraged town halls and municipalities to also refer to the ministry for technical advise. According to ministerial sources, their expert counseling is based on scientific standards and applied through an environmental-friendly strategy to minimize its impact on nature.
The Public Health Department has already chosen the inspectors who will keep tabs on possible pest outbreaks. The team of inspectors will also asses the mayoralties’ performance to combat pests and other threats to public health, enabling the department to evaluate their work and provide proper guidance.
To help with these tasks, the ministry also employs geographic information systems to monitor and study public health pests. The system identifies the most important environmental factors affecting pest growth and classifies pests based on accurate and documented scientific foundations. Thanks to the geographic information system, authorities are also able to test the pests' resistance to pesticides.
At the forefront of this battle is the humble mosquito, which is one of the health authorities’ main concerns. A mosquito plague can lead to dangerous threats on the citizen’s health, since they can spread serious illnesses. The tiny insects can grow all around the country, and reproduce fairly fast, making it hard to keep a possible epidemic under control.