National Pest Management Association Prepares to Launch Crucial Pest Control Initiative in Haitian Hospitals

NPMA Staff

A delegation from the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) has returned from a fact-finding mission in Haiti where the group surveyed pest conditions in hospitals in Port-au-Prince resulting from the January 2010 earthquake. The conditions within these facilities are deplorable as medical facilities are overrun with fly, cockroach, mosquito and rodent infestations - all of which can transmit serious diseases, such as E-Coli and Salmonella from flies and cockroaches, malaria and dengue fever from mosquitoes or cause respiratory distress due to the presence of rodent droppings.

"The pest issues facing Haiti are grave, especially in hospitals," said Rob Lederer, executive vice president of NPMA. "In visiting hospitals that are meant to be safe havens for the ill and seeing the severe pest problems that threaten the work of doctors and nurses in Haiti, it became clear that this was the first, necessary area in which to provide our expertise and resources."

The NPMA delegation has initiated a strategic plan to work with the Haitian government, hospital administrators and local pest control companies to address medical facilities with tailored treatment plans. NPMA will use its resources to help minimize pest entry points, purchase products for preventing pest infestations and to train Haitian pest professionals so they can properly perform pest control operations in an ongoing manner.

"The physical devastation to the country has created a terrific breeding ground for pests and these conditions will be aggravated by the arrival of the hurricane season in Haiti in June," said Lederer. "It is imperative that we work efficiently to implement an immediate plan of action that will assist the Haitian people now, but also provide them with vital long-term pest management training that will help them in rebuilding their country."

For more information on the fact-finding mission in Haiti, visit NPMA''s community relations page. For more information on the National Pest Management Association or for details about pest issues, visit www.pestworld.org.

The NPMA, a non-profit organization with more than 7,000 members, was established in 1933 to support the pest management industry's commitment to the protection of public health, food and property.

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