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An empty patch of government land next to The Visionary in Tung Chung is believed to be the source of the problem. Photo: Sam Tsang

Bites, lesions and no open windows: life inside the new Lantau development plagued by mosquitos

The swarm of blood-sucking insects is believed to be coming from a patch of unused government land next to a block of flats in Tung Chung

Roaring aircraft were thought to be the only flying pests around when Susanne Gao and her young family moved into their newly-purchased first home at Tung Chung’s The Visionary this Easter. They were welcomed by another, more bloodthirsty sort.

Swarms of “large, long-legged” mosquitoes and their midge cousins have been bugging residents inside their homes at Nan Fung Group’s newly-completed development in north Lantau since the flats began filling up early this year.

Red bites and lesions cover Gao’s toddler daughter’s arms and legs. Windows must be kept shut. Going out to play after 5pm is now deemed dangerous. “It was so serious the first few days, we had to apply mosquito repellent all over her body before her bedtime,” said Ko, who lives on the 15th floor.

Susanne Gao's one and a half year old daughter covered in insect bites.
“We took her to the emergency room one night as the bites swelled and she had a fever. I’m worried about [mosquito-transmitted] diseases because there are many kids at this estate,” she said.

She soon realised other residents were also facing the same problems. The 1,419 private flats, which have views of the airport and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge boundary crossing facilities, sits next to an idle, empty patch of government land along Ying Hei Road, which they suspect is the source of the pests.

The news came as April was warmer and rainier than usual and exceptionally humid – relative humidity was 89 per cent, six per cent higher than normal. It is also the most humid April since 1961, according to the Observatory.

The number of mosquito-related complaints in Tung Chung to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has almost doubled to 17 this year, up from nine in the same period last year and eight the year before that.

The department is warning the public to be on the alert for a possible increase in mosquito activity across the city this summer.

Couple Alex Mora and Amy Lo, who moved into their rented flat in March, are also victims of the “army of mosquitoes”. Pointing to the empty construction site pockmarked with overgrowth Mora said it got so water-logged with stagnant puddles after rain that one could “hear the frogs in them.”

“We can’t open our windows at all. When we do open them, its at night when we shower to get the steam out. I can’t even count how many mosquitoes end up coming in,” said Mora.

Seven out of the nine towers in the estate face the idling site.

Complaints were made to the FEHD in April. The department arrived twice to conduct pest control and eliminate potential mosquito breeding places in suspected site, which Gao said had improved the situation slightly. But residents claimed the department could not do more because they mosquitoes were not identified to be aedes albopictus, a species that can carry viruses such as dengue and Zika.

The patch of government land is to remain idle for another few years.

New Charm Management, the Nan Fung arm which manages the estate, said it was aware of the problem and had stepped up inspections and measures to eliminate breeding grounds, such as placing mosquito exterminators in common areas and spraying larvicide and anti-malarial oils after rain.

While the numbers of mosquitoes were reduced, the problem has returned in the form of biting midges, small blood-sucking flies, which look similar to mosquitoes. Irritations from midge bites can last for days, or even weeks and constant scratching can lead to bacterial infection and slow-healing wounds.

They mainly breed on the surface of wet mud or soil. Shady and humid places provide favourable living conditions for the adult biting midges.

Dr John Simon, a specialist in infectious and tropical diseases, said midges were not known to spread disease but some species were able to spread bacteria and parasites. He said young children were prime targets for midges as the pests were weak fliers that tend to fly closer to ground.

The FEHD is warning of a possible increase in mosquito activity in the rainy months ahead.

The spokesman said the midge problem would probably subside as higher temperatures and stronger sunlight in the summer would make the environment less favourable for breeding.

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