The Jamaica CourseJOURNALSAugust 14, 2007
Later this afternoon we were able to experience exactly what his passion was all about, we drove through Kingston to Spanish town to look for breeding sites of the different mosquito species. After we picked up a few Ministry of Health officers, the first site we visited was a rundown farm: complete with a huge herd of goats to greet our bus. With dippers and pipettes in hand, we walked all over the field looking for standing water and trying to identify any larvae we found. The second and third sites we stopped at were random ditches on the side of the road. At the end of the day, we had collected plenty of larvae and pupae of the Culex and Anopheles species. It was so exciting to finally get to see the subject of our study alive and growing in front of our eyes; the diagrams we have studied for so long have come to life! It was also really neat to be able to work with the Ministry of Health officers and really understand that even though we are very different, our purpose is the same. Sarah Bailey
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This morning Mr. Castle was so gracious to give the group a brief, but very interesting introduction to vector control. As he spoke, we were all amazed at the depth and range of his knowledge about mosquito species and different habits. It was actually entertaining, as he talked about mosquitoes as if they were old, dear friends of his. We could tell he had a passion for his job and his job is definitely bugs.