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SINGAPORE - We thank Mr William Tok Gek Sun for his letter ("Routine fogging harmful to health"; Forum Online, Monday).
The National Environment Agency does not advocate routine fogging as a key anti-dengue strategy to control the mosquito population.
Instead, we have always emphasised that source reduction should be the strategy to prevent mosquito breeding.
This is because the primary dengue vector, Aedes aegypti, is an indoor breeder.
Therefore, the removal of mosquito breeding habitats and stagnant water indoors would have a greater impact on reducing the mosquito population.
Fogging is used to complement source reduction in areas where there is a high risk of dengue transmission.
Pest control operators are trained to take precautions when carrying out fogging, including giving notification to neighbours before fogging takes place.
Thermal fogging, when carried out properly, can reduce the adult mosquito population quickly and is not harmful to health.
Derek Ho
Director-General
Public Health
National Environment Agency
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