Infestation at Five Islands Primary turns out to be fleas, not flies; school will require decontamination, CHI Martin says

The Central Board of Health (CBH) has made moves to eradicate a flea infestation problem at the Five Islands Primary School.

Initially, there were reports that flies were swarming the children while they were having lunch.  However, when Chief Health Inspector Sharon Martin deployed an inspector to the school, she was advised that the issue was not flies – but fleas.

Apparently stray dogs have been breaching the school’s perimeter fence on a daily basis and they are infested with the vermin.  As they roam the compound, they deposit these fleas, which are very hard to kill by hand and which have been biting the children and causing other issues.

Martin says that discussions will have to be held with the Board of Education (BoE) with regard to sealing off the openings in the fence or replacing it altogether.

She says that talks will also be held with Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Tubal Edwards to have the animals removed to a home where they can be adopted.

Martin acknowledges that something must be done urgently in order to avoid a further infestation of the school. Accordingly, she says that a program of decontamination will take place, with the compound being sprayed to kill the pests.

However, removing the dogs from the premises has to be done first, or the spraying will be futile, she notes.

Martin says this will be a collaborative effort involving a number of agencies to eradicate the infestation.