Swarms of dengue mosquitoes have been discovered at seven schools in Al-Sharayeh District. The infestation at male and female schools is believed to have been caused by poor maintenance of water coolers and toilets. The Makkah Mayoralty has called on principals to fix the problem right away to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever. However a source told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that “male and female students at some of these schools have got fever and symptoms similar to those of dengue fever”. The discovery was made by the mayoralty's dengue fever teams who were paying a routine visit to the school to spray insecticides. However, when they tested water coolers they discovered small worms of dengue mosquitoes in the water. The teams are now urging all schools to clean and sterilize water coolers once every two weeks. The head of hygiene and cleaning, Saleh Ezzat, said: “The insecticides are effective for three months and Health Affairs registered only two cases of dengue fever during the previous period.” The Director of the Buildings Department at Makkah Education Administration, Badar Al-Harthy, said the problem lies with the schools themselves and not with the mayoralty. “Some school principals do not take good care of water coolers in terms of cleaning and maintenance and such negligence provides a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes. That's why we make periodic visits to schools. We sterilize water coolers and change the filters.” __
