Black fly

Guwahati, Dec. 10: A little black fly that has blinded hundreds in Africa and the US is paralysing army operations in Arunachal Pradesh, with jawans too sick from its itchy bites to pick up the gun.

Locally called dim dim, the fly has done enough harm in the past few days to earn the nickname “secret enemy in the hills”.

“A soldier becomes weak and almost paralysed for over 15 days after being bitten by the fly. A bite causes intense itching, which becomes unbearable. We are working on ways to find a solution to this menace,” said R.B. Srivastava, director of the Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory.

So threatening is the “menace” that the laboratory has launched a search for an antidote to its bite and also how to keep the fly away. Srivastava said his organisation has already begun research for the antidote.

Given Arunachal Pradesh’s strategic position with China — the two share a 1,080 km-long border — the army has heavy deployment from 4 Corps in the state.

A team from the laboratory has rushed to Sepa to study the situation, Srivastava said.

Sepa, he said, has been identified as the worst affected area with many soldiers falling ill after being bitten by the black fly.

The laboratory had earlier come up with a herbal vaporiser to deal with mosquitoes, which infest the forest of the Northeast.

However, unlike the anopheles mosquito which even cause death, the black fly only causes temporary illness, though it is known to have spread river blindness in the coasts of Africa and the US.

“The bite is very painful unlike the mosquito and it starts itching all over the body after a few hours. The itching simply becomes unbearable,” said an army officer based at Tenga.

He said the insect also bites through the hair and thick layer of clothing.

The laboratory is now working on few herbal repellent to deal with the bug, which breeds in the waters of fast-flowing rivers in hill areas and feeds on blood.