Middle East DVEP - Armed Forces Pest Management Board

IV. Country Profiles.A. Bahrain.a. Geography. Bahrain, slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC, isthe smallest Persian Gulf country and consists of an archipelago of 35 low-lying islands,with a total land area of about 620 sq km. Linked by causeways, the largest and onlyinhabited islands are Bahrain, Al Muharraq, Sitrah, and Nabih Saleh. Except for a narrowcoastal strip running along the north and northwest coasts, Bahrain is desert. Away fromthe coast, the land rises gradually toward a central range of hills, which reaches its highestelevation at Jebel Dukhan (130 m). Most of the smaller islands are flat and sandy.b. Climate. Bahrain’s climate is hot in the summer (May to October) and mild in thewinter (December to March). Summer temperatures occasionally reach a high of 45 o C anda low of 19 o C, with little or no rainfall. A dry, southwestern wind, known locally as theqaws, raises periodic dust storms. Winters are mild, with temperatures occasionallyreaching a high of 35 o C and a low of 5 o C. Rainfall is about 76 mm annually and issometimes heavy enough to produce minor local flooding.________________________________________________________________________Manama (elevation 6 m)Mean Daily Temperatures ( o C)MONTH J F M A M J J A S O N DMaximum 20 21 24 29 33 36 37 38 36 32 28 22Minimum 14 15 17 21 26 28 29 29 27 24 21 16Monthly PrecipitationMean (mm) 8 18 13 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 18______________________________________________________________________________________c. Population and Culture. Approximately half of Bahrain’s population lives in thetwo large cities of Manama and Al Muharraq. Bahrain has an overall population densityof about 970 people per sq km. The population is 80% Arab and 20% Iranian. Totalpopulation 600,000; 88% urbanized; literacy rate 84%.d. Water, Living and Sanitary Conditions. Except for the wealthy, living andsanitary conditions in urban and rural areas throughout Bahrain are below Westernstandards. Food handling practices are poor. Sewage systems and septic tanks serve about65% of Bahrain’s urban population, but the quality of services and facilities varies.Peripheral slums and rural areas have little or no sanitation services. Refuse is collectedregularly in large cities but rarely in slums and rural areas. This combination ofinadequate waste disposal and a general tendency by many people to indiscriminatelydispose of trash and wastes of all sorts attracts filth flies, rodents and other vermin. Waterdistribution systems are ofter poorly maintained, and numerous leaks and spills from thesesystems attract and provide breeding areas for mosquitoes, flies, rodents, and many othervectors and pests. These conditions and practices ensure that pathogens such as43