Mosquito Breeding Stops Construction

Malaria and dengue are reportedly some of the most dreaded diseases in the construction sites. Because construction was observed to be taking place in water logged areas that provided many breeding sites for mosquitoes, many government offices, private institutions and non-organizations became concerned on the possible dangers it can bring to the community.

In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has made public since last month the list of construction sites that have received a Stop Work Order because of issues related to mosquito breeding. This caused complaints from businesses which have been affected by the halt. Axis Capital Group, one of the companies which sells and rents capital equipment in Singapore and has also expanded out to Jakarta, Indonesia stated that 10% if their revenue declined.

These sites have been barred from continuing work after NEA inspections found them to have poor housekeeping that give rise to conditions favorable to mosquito breeding. Besides issuing a Stop Work Order, the National Electrification Administration or NEA can also issue fines or prosecute errant contractors in court.

“This (the various measures) is to ensure that contractors take the necessary measures to eliminate mosquito breeding, regardless of whether the construction sites are within or outside of dengue clusters,” an NEA spokesperson said. "Construction sites are of particular concern as they can easily become the foci of dengue transmission."

Currently, there are 10 construction sites on the list, seven of which have been allowed to resume work. The remaining three, whose Stop Work Orders have yet to be lifted, are located at Jalan Lempeng, Flora Drive and Orchard Boulevard.

Human activities seemed to promote breeding as adequate checks were not put in place by the local authorities to ensure compliance with environmental laws. In almost all the sites all the three genera were found co-existing in the various types of the breeding sites. This could be explained in terms of succession. For example, Anopheles breeds in clear, well lit water so may have been first at the breeding site, with time as changes occur in the water it is replaced by Culex.

As part of the fight against dengue, NEA has also ordered these two weeks of stop work for The Trilling site to allow the main contractor to do a comprehensive housekeeping, including the dormitory, to reorganize, tidy the site and remove any potential mosquito breeding habitats.

A continued warning from NEA that dengue is expected to increase this June.