The Sindh and Balochistan governments on Wednesday procured several hundred kilogrammes of a biological insecticide from the Pakistan Armed Forces following the deaths due to water borne diseases in the flood-hit areas.  The insecticide, developed by a science and technology organisation of the armed forces, will be used to eliminate mosquitoes and their larvae, federal health officials said. “Provincial governments of Sindh and Balochistan have procured several hundred kilograms of biological pesticide ‘Moskill’ developed by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DESTO), an official of the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS, RC).

The pesticide is successfully being used by Pakistan Army and other armed forces units to eliminate mosquitoes in and around their establishments. World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that widespread outbreaks of Malaria and other vector-borne diseases in 32 flood-hit areas of Sindh and Balochistan are threatening thousands of lives, fearing that over 2.7 million people in these districts could contract malaria in these areas by January 2023, of which many could die if not treated.

The NHS official said in order to prevent deaths due to malaria and other vector-borne diseases, Sindh and Balochistan have decided to apply the biological pesticide Moskill on an experimental basis and in this regard, officials of both governments have been trained by the army regarding the use of biological chemical containing Bacillus thuringeinsis, which is a proven larvicidal bacterium, found naturally in the soil. “Bacillus thuringeinsis is a naturally occurring soil bacteria and it is successfully being used by the United States, Canada, China, India and various other countries in Europe and Africa.

DESTO has indigenously developed its Bacillus thuringeinsis-based product Bti-Pk from bacteria obtained from local strains of Pakistan. This product kills mosquito larvae in the stagnant waters and stops the growth and spread of all kinds of mosquitoes”, the official added. According to the official, Moskill is an environment-friendly product which is approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but added that both the provincial governments were using this product on an experimental basis as they had not used this kind of method before for the vector control.

On the other hand, a former healthcare professional associated with Pakistan Army said British Indian Army had a long experience of dealing with mosquitoes, especially those that spread malaria and added that in some wars, Malaria had killed more troops than an enemy, compelling the army to come up with ways and means to deal with vector-borne diseases. “Malaria and dengue pose a serious public health challenge for the armed forces like civilian populations. Pakistan Army is using traditional as well as research-based ways and techniques including biotechnological based solutions to deal with mosquitoes and other vector-borne diseases to prevent soldiers and their families settled in the cantonment areas”, he added.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP