Nsawam Medium Prisons in the Eastern Region at the weekend was fumigated by the Vector Control Unit of Zoomlion, following bed bug infestation at the state prison facility.

Briefing journalists before the fumigation exercise, Deputy Head of Vector Control Unit, Zoomlion, Abel Djangmah, said the exercise was embarked upon following a request by the authorities of Nsawam Prison to his outfit to help them control the bed bugs infestation at the facility which were causing lots of discomfort to prisoners.

According to him, though the request came from the prison authorities, assisting institutions to fight bed bugs and other insects forms part of Zoomlion’s corporate social responsibility.

“…So when they wrote to us [Zoomlion] requesting for assistance to help them control the bed bug situation at the prison facility, we came here about two weeks ago to do an initial inspection. We spoke to the prison officer in charge of the facility and later assessed the situation and how best we could address the problem,” he disclosed.

In response to how the place is fumigated, Mr. Djangmah disclosed that the exercise which was not the first time was normally done on Saturdays.

This, he explained, was because on such a day many of the inmates go out of their cells to have fun games.

“…Saturday especially, most of the cells are vacant, which situation enables us to have easy access to spray the cells,” he said.

Mr. Djangmah said the fumigation exercise which is done by workers of his outfit last for a two-hour period. This, he stressed, is done professionally, “because of the cunning nature of bed bugs and to achieve the desired impact.”

The method employed by his outfit, he explained, is described in detail as a mixture of insecticides including bed bug solution, and alphacypermethrin, bed bug gel and odour neutraliser.

After the operation was finished, vast quantities of bugs were found to have been killed.

“…after fumigating the various cells we ask them to refrain from keeping foods in their cells, and also educate them on the need to keep their cells clean,” Mr. Djangmah said.

For his part, Assistant Director of Nsawam Prisons, Edmund Boye Odonkor, admitted that the prison facility was saddled with bed bug infestation.

“We are actually overcrowded and they use mattresses just as it is happening in the various secondary schools …here is worst. The reason being that the overcrowding at the Nsawam Prisons is more than what pertains at the various secondary schools.”

It was in the light of the above that Mr. Boye Odonkor said the Nsawam Prisons wrote to Zoomlion requesting them to assist them deal with the bed bug infestation at the prison facility.

According to him, last month [April 2017] though the prison authorities managed to embark on a fumigation exercise against bed bugs, they could not cover the whole facility because of the lack of resources.

He admitted that when the fumigation is done on monthly basis it will a go a long way put smiles back on the faces of the inmates, who of who often left covered in bites of bed bugs.

Against this background Mr. Boye Odonkor pleaded with other corporate institutions to come to the aid of Nsawam Prisons to help them control the bed bug situation at the place.