Posted on: Saturday, August 24, 2002

Vector complaints overwhelm state

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state Department of Health is coping with a slight backlog as it deals with an increase in pest-related calls and a heavier workload.

In the past year and half, the outbreak of dengue fever, growing numbers of mice and a record increase in calls from residents statewide have contributed to the backlog, department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said this week.

Usually, the Health Department's five Vector Control inspectors on O'ahu would respond to calls within two to three days, Okubo said. But now that the department is getting more calls, response time has been at least a week, Okubo said.

"It was right after dengue when we started to get more and more calls," she said. "People are calling about mosquitoes and mice."

There has also been an increase in calls on Neighbor Islands, but response times there have been normal, Okubo said.

When dengue fever started to spike last September, Vector Control began to receive more calls. In May, the dengue outbreak was officially over after 13 weeks of no new cases.

This summer, people started to call with concerns about the recent increase in murine typhus cases as a result of the growing numbers of mice, Okubo said.

A new case of murine typhus — a rodent-borne illness resembling flu — was confirmed Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to 14. State officials have stepped up efforts to help contain mice that contribute to the spread of the disease.

Recently, other residents have called about mosquitoes and the West Nile virus — a pathogen that has not even been found in Hawai'i, Okubo said. West Nile virus, in the news because of outbreaks on the Mainland, can cause a potentially fatal brain infection.

While all calls are important, Okubo said, residents should try to handle the problem themselves first, especially if they are complaining about neighbors. Last week, a caller claimed that his neighbor's yard had large tubs of water lilies and was concerned about mosquitoes, Okubo said.

"The inspector went down there, and the neighbor did not have any mosquitoes, no larvae, and he actually had fish in the water that could eat the mosquitoes," Okubo said.

"We'll be sending the neighbor information packets, but it would also help if people could just talk to each other first."

Reach Shayna Coleon at scoleon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8004.