Student Research Reports

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SUMMARY Mosquitoes are vectors that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya and the zika virus. Some of these diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and zika virus can be fatal. Mombasa County is a malaria endemic region, that is prone to incidences of malaria and chikungunya. The aim of our space challenge research was to identify mosquito larvae species within our school compound. A key factor in the project involved recognizing potential mosquito breeding sites, Sampling water from set study sites in school, Identifying mosquito taxa; differentiating between Aedes sp., Anopheles sp., and Culex sp. larvae, actively reducing mosquito risk- by dumping containers/pouring oil on the abandoned old tires in school compound and monitoring environment as well as learning opportunistic breeding habits used by Aedes aegypti/albopictus in human built environments and about vector borne disease risk to the communities along the coastal region. The procedures involved include identifying your mosquito larvae by recognizing the gross morphological characteristics of mosquito larvae and learning the morphological features used in identifying a larva specimen. We also used the MHM protocol’s four main steps; GPS locating potential breeding sites; sample & counting mosquitoes in their different life phases; identifying larvae taxa and decommissioning the breeding sites when possible. We concluded that most dominant mosquito species in Nyali area is Aedes. This justifies the large number of records about dengue fever and chikungunya virus in Mombasa County. We strongly recommended that all citizens monitor their environment to look for any possible mosquito breeding habitats- which include both natural and artificial containers which can hold standing water for mosquitoes to breed in. After the research, we also organized a 1-day workshop community action with the theme christened, “Larviciding for better future” and created public awareness about the potential breeding sites of Aedes as well as methods of prevention amongst the local communities, beach hotel owners and public health officers in Mombasa county. The environmental club sloga aimed at destroying mosquito breeding sites… ‘Flip every container on the ground!’