Nets, please?
Nets, please?
I attended the Civil Defense public meeting about the topic of dengue fever at the Pahoa High School cafeteria.
I am concerned that the approach government is taking is ineffectual. Confirmed cases have risen to more than 130, surpassing that of previous, contained outbreaks.
Dengue fever is a pandemic that annually infects an estimated 400,000 people. At heightened risk of the disease becoming endemic to Hawaii, government officials are not doing their appointed duties.
The World Health Organization has published comprehensive protocol on how to most effectively deal with a dengue outbreak. Unfortunately, this invaluable resource is being underutilized — or not utilized at all.
Mosquito nets are an integral component of vector control as it relates to reducing mosquito-to-human contact. Toxic insecticides that contain DEET can be used to prevent bites, but there is evidence showing that those who are pregnant or infants are poisoned by this compound.
Our government now is trying to scrounge up some charity mosquito nets from the United Way, and Hope Services still does not have any. This is appalling if we consider that the Health Department received $70,000 to do little more than print up some “Fight the Bite” fliers. An online wholesale purchase of mosquito nets could literally deliver a shipment of 1,000 nets in days or weeks. This would be a mere 7 percent of that $70,000.
At the meeting were mostly senior couples. I was probably the only person there who lives under a tarp in a treehouse with no screens, representing the most vulnerable among us: those who live in conditions that resemble homelessness. At the meeting they were handing out Off! repellent. I explained that the cultural demographic here rejects toxins, and alternate options (mosquito nets) should already be available.
The stakes here are high. Annually, 220,000 tourists come to this island to vacation and inject income into our local economy. If dengue fever were to take hold and become endemic, how many people would choose to take their tourism currency elsewhere? Aside from residents suffering a debilitating disease, a whole industry could collapse.
Here we are, two months into being swept into a global pandemic. It’s shameful that while we paid the Health Department $70,000 to print some fliers about not getting bitten, there has been a run on all mosquito products that effectively inhibit people from fighting the bite. While Civil Defense had a few cases of Off! to give (one per family), they are still encouraging private retailers to step up supply for demand.
What they did not tell the audience is that DEET is toxic. After the meeting, Darryl Oliveira, Civil Defense chief, approached me to talk. He admitted to knowledge that there is conflicting evidence on the matter of fetal/infant poisoning and that he has inquired with an authority. Meanwhile, DEET is being pushed on the general public when its obvious that a broader approach should focus on “pockets” of people infected — people who are not coming forward to surrender blood, nor take handouts of highly toxic compounds.
Well, what I hope I got through to them is that they would come out of isolation for free mosquito nets, which would empower those who will not go to a hospital with nontoxic barrier protection to keep their ill apart from mosquitoes.
I know of at least five pregnant women living in jungle conditions in close proximity to recent dengue outbreaks. They are the most vulnerable. They are caught between dengue fever, which can harm their developing child, and standard government-issue DEET, which can harm their developing child. The mosquito net option does no harm, and yet it is of little consideration to our “Health” Department.
I explained to Mr. Oliveira the legal can of worms that has been opened, as government now hands out and endorses a known toxin without full disclaimer.
One baby gets born poisoned, and the County of Hawaii is in court! And here we are waiting for charity mosquito nets to maybe someday get here, when according to the WHO emergency response protocol they should be readily available.
Let’s face it, the ones at highest risk are not the ones looting the shelves in paranoia. They are holding back the fever of a loved one, with nothing but mosquitoes.
Paddy James Daly
Pahoa