Reading today’s paper one almost might think the island was being ungrateful for the good bit of rain during the past few days after such a long relatively dry period of drought. Not only is the public immediately reminded of the mosquito threat, but an advisory against swimming in Great Bay
has been issued as well.
All jokes aside, the latter has to do with pumping water from Great Salt Pond into the sea to lower the levels and thereby the risk of possible flooding in Philipsburg. Those who find the latter scenario hard to imagine should check what happened with the passing of Hurricane Lenny in 1999.
Because the ponds act as catchment for the runoff from the surrounding areas, the water coming out via Rolandus Channel could be contaminated, so the advice is well-taken. After all, one wouldn’t easily go bathing in a rainwater ditch either. Luckily, the problem normally is resolved pretty soon after the pumping stops, due to the natural current in the bay.
When it comes to mosquitoes, it’s not so much the nuisance as the diseases they carry. Dengue, zika and chikungunya usually are not fatal, but certainly no fun. Those who have suffered from any of these ailments spread by the blood-sucking insects will attest to that.
Other than keeping them away by using air-conditioning, screens, clothes that cover the entire body and/or repellent, the only defence is to prevent standing water in which they breed. It regards just about any type of container or object that can hold water and there is indeed some urgency involved, as it takes only days for them to go from eggs to adult mosquito.
To avoid being bitten at all is hard, but the less the better, because it only takes one. In that sense, it’s very much a matter of the law of averages.
