Waste-tyres as Breeding Ground for Mosquitoes: An Environmental and Public Health Challenge in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria is a very populated country with a heavy dependence on road transportation. This dependence means that a lot of tyres are required to service the millions of vehicles used in the country and hence, there will be a lot of waste tyres generated. Waste tyres are known to pose various threats to the environment and public health when they are disposed indiscriminately. In Nigeria, poor waste tyre disposal is a major challenge as they can be found littered around the environment and used for various unconventional purposes. These waste tyres can hold water thereby becoming suitable breeding sites for different mosquito species that vector diseases such as malaria, zika virus, yellow and Dengue fever. This research focused at exposing the risks posed by waste tyres in the environment in relation to mosquito-borne diseases. Parameters that make waste tyres suitable oviposition sites for mosquitoes were discussed. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus were identified as the most common tyre-breeding species due to their ability to adapt to the physico-chemical parameters of waste tyres. The business of tyre importation, management, disposal and recycling is very lucrative but has been underexplored in Nigeria resulting in unconventional techniques of use of waste tyres such as in shoe and furniture production, barricades in security checkpoints, ornamental purposes and playground construction. These practices, if not done properly can create various negative environmental challenges and cause public health problems. The paper also proffers control measures to mitigate these challenges such as urban planning strategies, Land use policies, technological advancements such as GPS enabled surveillance and the use of larvicides for the control of mosquitoes.