VECTOR CONTROL IN HDB ESTATES

VECTOR CONTROL IN HDB ESTATES: 13.

Ms Ellen Lee asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the state of the vector control problem (including rodents, crows and pigeons) across HDB housing estates; (b) what is the number of such complaints received in the past two years; and (c) what is being done to contain the problem at the national and constituency levels.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): Sir, the National Environment Agency (NEA) exercises stringent monitoring and control operations on vectors which pose a significant risk from the public health perspective. Currently, mosquitoes and rodents are the vector populations being targeted as they can spread diseases like dengue and murine typhus respectively. Crows and pigeons caught locally have so far not been found to carry infectious agents. Nonetheless, we have put in place programmes to manage their populations so as to minimise public nuisance and to mitigate any potential health risks.

Between 2006 and 2008, NEA detected 1,473, 1,773 and 2,290 mosquito breeding habitats in the common areas of HDB housing estates respectively. Although the numbers are on the rise, they are lower than the 3,688 breedings detected in 2005. The increase in breedings detected can partly be attributed to increased checks by NEA. The annual number of day-biting mosquito complaints, which largely comprise dengue-transmitting Aedes mosquitoes, received by NEA between 2005 and 2008 were 3,732, 1,855, 2,588 and 2,038 respectively.

We will have to sustain our efforts to control the mosquito population. NEA will continue to coordinate national efforts to locate and remove mosquito breeding grounds and potential habitats. At the constituency level, the Town Councils are engaging professional pest control operators to carry out regular inspections of the common areas in HDB estates for mosquito breeding. NEA will also continue to support these source reduction efforts with its outreach programmes that encourage the community to prevent mosquito breeding in their homes and surroundings.

With regard to rodents, between 2005 and 2008, the number of rodent sighting complaints in HDB estates reported to NEA was 368, 176, 153 and 383 respectively. The 58% reduction between 2005 and 2007 was largely due to a two-year intensive rodent control programme introduced by NEA and the Town Councils in 2005.

NEA adopts a risk-based approach to rodent control by targeting efforts on areas that could be conducive to rat infestation. The key strategy is to ensure that estate managers and premise owners practise good housekeeping and effective waste management, and this is complemented by rodent trappings. With the rise in the number of rodent sightings over the past two years, NEA is assessing the need for rodent control efforts in HDB estates to be stepped up.

While the vector situation has generally improved over the past few years, we can do better. I wish to assure the Member that we will continue to take all necessary measures to control vectors and prevent the transmission of vector-borne diseases. However, controlling the vector population downstream is not the most sustainable approach in the long-term. Each of us must also play our part in keeping our premises clean and tidy, thus depriving the vectors of potential breeding grounds and food sources and limiting their population in the first place.

3.00 pm

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question time.

[ Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 14-16 and 18-26 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix*. Question No. 17 has been postponed to the next available sitting of Parliament .]

*Cols. 1237-1256.