Maui Mayor purchases mosquito repellent to prevent spread of Dengue Fever

WAILUKU, MAUI — The Maui County Mayor’s Office is pleased to announce the purchase of nearly $3,000 worth of mosquito repellent as a caution against the spread of dengue fever.

Mayor Alan Arakawa personally authorized the purchase from Maui Distributors last week. As soon as the shipment of repellent comes in it will handed over to Maui District Health Officer, Dr. Lorrin Pang for use in East Maui.

“We’ve faced dengue once before and managed to keep it under control,” said Mayor Alan Arakawa. “Now we have a chance to stop it before it even starts so I am happy to assist Dr. Pang in any way.”

“This repellent will be crucial in containing dengue fever,” said Dr. Pang. “Since the dengue virus must pass through a human being, we can break the cycle by preventing people from getting bitten by infected mosquitoes or keeping mosquitoes from biting infected people.

The repellant will protect both infected human beings and mosquitoes from each other.”

The repellent will be handed out to tourists and residents in East Maui – particularly in Upper Nihiku and Hana where the mosquito population is greatest – and should be enough for the summer visitor crowd. Pang estimated that he needed about a $1,000 worth of repellent a month.

The County also thanked the Maui Visitor’s Bureau and the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH) for being the first to step up and buy Dr. Pang about $1,000 worth of repellent last month. The VASH program is a visitors’ assistance program that is funded by Hawai’i Tourism Authority and administered through Maui Visitors Bureau.

The County hopes other organizations will also donate money for repellent. The Maui Hotel and Lodging Association has already committed at least $500 for future repellent purchases.