Bayer CropScience joined the delegation selected by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) to travel to Haiti as part of a fact-finding mission to survey the pest conditions in hospitals and tent cities. Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas are overrun with pests including flies, rodents, cockroaches and mosquitoes in the aftermath of the January earthquake.

Dr. Joe Hope, development manager at Bayer CropScience’s business operation unit Environmental Science, was one of the professionals chosen to assist in the technical evaluation of this relief effort. “The pest situation in the medical facilities and the tent cities is unimaginable. To see disease-carrying pests in hospitals is especially disconcerting as the health conditions of patients are worsened by the presence of rodents, cockroaches and flies,” said Hope. “Treating the hospitals is of the utmost urgency and importance and that is where our help will begin. They are facing a long and hard recovery and it is important that we provide continued support that will see them through."


Perfect breeding ground for pests
The NPMA delegation plans to work with the Haitian government, hospital administrators, and local pest control companies to treat medical facilities on a case-by-case basis, as each is experiencing different challenges. Immediate needs will be to minimize entry points for pests, provide products designed to prevent pest infestations in buildings, and to train Haitian pest control workers so they can properly perform pest control operations.

The long-term effects of the January earthquake have provided the perfect breeding ground for pests, and these conducive pest conditions will only be exacerbated by the hurricane and rainy season that begins next month. Diseases and health threats caused by these pests include Escherichia coli, Salmonella, asthma, malaria, Dengue Fever as well as food contamination. The appropriate contact and bait products from Bayer CropScience have been recommended for use in control of flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes.

To see photos from the trip, click here: http://www.press.bayercropscience.com/bcsweb/cropprotection.nsf/id/EN_Bayer_CropScience_supports_pest_control_efforts_in_Haiti_after_the_January_earthquake_-_2010-NST-022