WHITE-HEADED MOSQUITOES KILL TENS OF LIVESTOCK IN PEKANBARU

Pekanbaru, Riau, Jan 1 (ANTARA) - Tens of livestock in Indragiri Hulu district, Pekanbaru, have died after being stung by still unidentified white-headed mosquitoes, a local animal husbdanry official said.

"Tens of livestock, mostly consisting of sheep and cows, died from the stings of white headed mosquitoes, a species we are now still studying in a laboratory," Patrianov, head of Riau province's animal husbandry office, said here on Thursday.

The white-headed mosquito attacks started in December 2009. At the beginning, they targeted sheep and cows but later they also attacked chickens, he said.

Patrianov said the still unidentnfied mosquitoes were not different from common mosquitoes in size but they had a white head and always attacked livestock at night.

Panicked farmers had tried to protect their animals by putting mosquito nets over their stables but the measure proved ineffective, Patrianov said.

"The mosquito nets proved unable to prevent livestock from falling victim to the deadly mosquitoes," he said.

It had been noticed that the white-headed mosquitoes usually appeared in conjunction with floods, Patrianov said.

A local resident, Ruli (26), said the white head mosquitoes also attacked humans although so far there had been no fatalities.

"The white-headed mosquitoes are very sticky and won't come off easily after landing on a human body. Their sting is also more strongly felt than those of ordinary moquitoes," he said.