Chinese troops endure livestock-killing mosquito plague in Xinjiang

A severe mosquito plague has killed livestock and caused constant misery for frontier troops in the country’s far west for the past two months, China News Service reports.

Soldiers and their families stationed in the area of Xinjiang  that borders Mongolia are under siege from an outbreak of mosquitoes that has killed chickens and pigs, according to the report.

“My heart breaks in pieces when I see the lumps on my son’s head,” sobbed Shen Qia, a member of  the quasi-military Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as he applied mosquito repellent to his young son.

The region is inundated with mosquitoes every July and August.

For the two months, doors and screened windows are tightly shut in households. Inside, insect repellent incense burns around the clock but the insects still find their way into the houses to attack their occupants.

Despite a constant outdoor temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius, labourers dare not leave skin exposed when working outdoors.