00:00The giant African snails, sometimes referred to by its acronym GAS, is multiplying across
00:05the country in their thousands.
00:07The snails, which emerge year-round, are no longer only impacting agricultural rural areas,
00:13but residents in urban areas as well.
00:16Prior to 2012, when they were contained in Degomartin, the plan was eradication.
00:21But that has now changed, as revealed at a joint select committee by agricultural entomologist
00:27at the Ministry of Agriculture, Rishni Mohan Singh.
00:31It also applies to the Moruga locust, which is indigenous to TNT.
00:36They lay their eggs around October to December, and emerge around January to April.
00:41Either pest, we cannot eradicate it.
00:44We have to manage it.
00:46And that is where the ministry is headed, in terms of management.
00:50For giant African snail, management in terms of chemical application or natural remedies,
00:57those are things that we recommend as well, to bring down the population.
01:00And when you keep bringing down the population, in pocket areas, you may be able to get rid
01:06of the snail, but you cannot eradicate it.
01:10However, chemicals, especially when used unprofessionally, can be harmful to humans and the environment.
01:16Salt and bleach are proffered for use to kill the pests, and the officials say removal of
01:22the snails is just as important to prevent further multiplication.
01:28For this, they call on people such as homeowners to do their part.
01:32At a state level, the Ministries of Health and Agriculture, along with the regional corporations
01:37under the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, are responders to the problem.
01:43Principal Medical and Health Officer at the Tunapunapiako Regional Corporation, Dr. Kirtisani
01:48indicates that he has not seen a significant increase in reports over the past two years.
01:55That may be because they've already been channeled effectively to the Ministry of Agriculture.
02:00But at the San Juan Laventille Regional Corporation, the situation is dire.
02:05We would have had an extensive increase within the last two years of the giant African snail
02:11infestations.
02:13So much so that the corporation has set up a separate unit to deal with the problem.
02:18This time, the worst areas affected are said to be County Kareny, followed by St. George
02:23West.
02:24The conflicting reports pertaining to the veracity of the situation, underscoring in
02:28part admitted gaps in data accumulation and collaboration between the entities.
02:34Because all bodies are doing something, but just that everybody don't know what everybody
02:40is doing.
02:41An eradication task force was disbanded sometime around 2016.
02:46We want to reinstate a task force to deal with the gas problem because there are too
02:51many silos and we need to get everybody on board.
02:55The snails can cause rat lungworm and eosinophilic meningitis.
02:59According to the health ministry, in areas with infestations, medical officials are prepped
03:05to be on the lookout for symptoms of the latter in patients.
03:09However, Director of Veterinary Public Health, Dr. Syed Rahman, says that the risk of getting
03:14that disease from the snails is low.
03:18Our surveillance to date has not detected any cases of eosinophilic meningitis attributable
03:26to gas as of this point in time.
03:29The local government ministry says that its public health department needs strengthening
03:34and further to that, there is a lack of resources at the regional corporations.
03:39It adds that it has been lobbying the Ministry of Finance, hoping to address some of these
03:43problems.
03:44Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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