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A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 21) that the enhanced monitoring and surveillance programme of ovitrap devices had revealed further indications of tampering of ovitraps.
"On October 19, our Pest Control Advisory Section (PCAS) staff went to collect the ovitrap devices which had previously been placed in various locations in Tung Chung for analysis. They found that there appeared to be indications that 28 out of a total of 36 devices had been tampered with. The water contained in the devices was clear and appeared to have been replaced. We then took immediate action to replace all 36 ovitrap devices and referred the incident to the Police for investigation. At the same time, we have also stepped up inspections to these locations to minimise the likelihood of tampering," the spokesman said.
The spokesman appealed to the public not to tamper with the ovitrap devices as they were important indicators for the Government in its efforts to tackle the dengue fever problem.
The spokesman also said that, following earlier complaints about ovitrap tampering, the PCAS staff had examined all the ovitraps placed in different locations throughout the territory. Some 200, or 10 per cent, of the ovitraps were suspected to have been tampered with. They were located in Kwai Chung, Lai King, Tsing Yi, Sham Shui Po (East) and Kwun Tong (Central).
"Ovitraps in these five areas were all replaced by new ones and the incidents had also been referred to the Police for investigation. Ovitrap indices announced earlier for the month of September have not been affected as no abnormalities have been observed since then.
"The department will continue to monitor closely the situation of ovitraps in different locations," he said.
Ends/Saturday, October 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:09
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