The headlines have been taken over by a mosquito. This was an invasion that was waiting to happen. It did not happen without warning. "Death due to Dengue" was a news item that appeared sporadically in the national newspapers. Dengue "raised its head" first in a random manner. One or two deaths here and there. The response was typical. Health sector officials started advising us to destroy the breeding grounds of Dengue. Garbage dumps, old tyres, coconut shells and other places where water can collect were targetted in these campaigns. There were TV advertisements, press conferences and features in newspapers about the menace. And yet, today, we are facing something close to an epidemic. Two leading schools in Colombo, Royal College and Buddhist Ladies College (both located in Colombo 7, mind you) have been closed after the Dengue mosquito was found to be breeding in the school premises. It is feared that many schools in Colombo and in the suburbs, are similarly threatened.

School officials, meanwhile claim that it is not fair to blame the school authorities, which are strapped for money due to "restructuring". One Principal said, "We just don’t have the labour necessary to maintain the required standards of sanitation. The parents are for the most part indifferent. They express concern only when something like this happens and is splashed in the newspapers." The Principal of Ananda Balika pointing to an open drain in the hostel which was formerly the house of Anagarika Dharmapala, said that the Ministry has been informed of this hazard since the school did not have the money to effect the necessary repairs, but nothing had been done about it.

All it takes to understand the gravity of the problem is to consider the life cycle of Aedes Aegypti, the Dengue mosquito. It is a container breeder, which requires clear water and sunlight. After a 7-14 day period of gestation, the mosquito emerges and is dead within two weeks. The mosquito feeds within a radius of 3 kilometers, the peak biting times being around dawn and dusk. The most vulnerable section of the population is children since these are the times when they are at home, ready to be bitten by this "indoor feeder". Schools are particularly juicy places for Aedes Aegypti since every school in Colombo, for example, is within striking distance of garbage dumps and other breeding grounds.

Who is responsible? Doctors in the Health Department say that Dengue is a problem of poor environmental sanitation. That of course, we already know. But environmental sanitation refers to garbage control and disposal, drainage of storm water and sewerage, rodent, feline and canine control, and poor housing (which includes industries, domestic units, schools and trades).

This, again, is not something that individuals can deal with. This is why there are enforcing authorities. In this case environmental sanitation is the full responsibility of the local authorities, in the local context, the Municipal Council. The unit that is responsible is the Public Health Department. The by-laws need to be enforced. The question is "When?"