SINGAPORE: Residents at a Jalan Besar housing block plagued by mosquitoes nightly say the infestation has largely improved, though the nuisance has not fully abated.CNA reported in late April that the outbreak at Block 642 Rowell Road had sparked complaints from residents who said they were unable to sleep due to itchy bites. Since as early as February, residents across multiple floors of the 25-storey block had been fending off nightly swarms with repellents, electronic traps and protective netting – to little avail. The National Environment Agency (NEA) attributed the rise to the weather and an increase in breeding of Culex quinquefasciatus – a mosquito species common in Singapore's urban setting – and said it had cleared breeding sites earlier in April.CNA revisited Rowell Road on May 4 and found fewer mosquitoes in common areas. At the darkened second-floor void deck, where mosquitoes had previously swarmed, only one or two remained. At least 25 mosquito carcasses littered a shoe rack outside a commercial door supplier, beside cans of insecticide.
Madam Sabrina Sow, 68, whose family had resorted to keeping windows shut at night, said the situation was "much improved". At the height of the outbreak, her family took turns getting up through the night to swat insects with an electric bug zapper, and resorted to sleeping in individual mosquito tents.On particularly bad nights, the family killed up to 80 mosquitoes, some of which had drawn blood. Things are calmer now, though Mdm Sow and her family still get bitten while sleeping and in the kitchen. She hoped the authorities would stay vigilant with control measures, or the mosquitoes might "come back in full force".
