Baguio alarmed over Aedes-borne disease

BAGUIO CITY: The city government has rallied the local community for a concerted effort against dengue fever as cases are feared to have reached an alarming level in the Summer Capital.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong during the Management Committee meeting, June 6, directed the City Health Services Office under Dr. Rowena Galpo to be aggressive in implementing the dengue action plan and to mobilize all concerned sectors to prevent cases from further shooting up, especially in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

Galpo said the action plan employs a multipronged approach involving all barangay (villages), schools and hospitals.

City epidemiologist Dr. Donnabel Panes and Sanitation Division chief Charles Bryan Carame during an Ugnayan press briefing, June 8, said cases have reached 241 or double last year's figure.

A total of 13 villages are now considered hot spots for having clustering of cases.

Residents were told to religiously and simultaneously practice the 4 o'clock habit or the habitual search and destruction of mosquito breeding sites as the first step in the 4S strategy.

The dengue virus-carrying mosquito species known as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus breed only in clean stagnant water and inhabit places where people gather.

These mosquitoes are low-flying and have a flight range of 300 meters so cleanups must be done simultaneously, otherwise, they will just transfer to another dirty place.

Carame, whose teams spearhead the search and destroy and fogging operations of the various district health centers in the barangay, said they mobilize the affected residents to adopt the search and destroy habit.

He said a common factor observed in areas with case clustering is the presence of uncovered drums, bottles, tires, and plants that accumulate water like fortune plants and bromeliad.

Carame discouraged band-aid solutions like the use of katol (repellant) which works only to drive away, not destroy, the mosquitoes and thus only give people a "false sense of security."

Panes said they have launched the "100 Days to a Dengue-Free Baguio" where residents are encouraged to regularly conduct search and destroy operations, document the same and post them on social media.

"You may use the hashtag #ditobaguiodenguenono and post in your accounts or you can do a Tiktok because why not make cleaning fun? After all, you're not cleaning just for yourself but you're also cleaning for others," she added.

Panes said cases are expected to increase in the coming days, especially when schools open and people get more mobile, so people should be more vigilant against the disease.

Unlike in coronavirus disease, she added, the prevention of dengue fever cases lies largely with the community.

"Unlike in Covid-19 where we can't see the virus, in dengue we have the means and the power to destroy the mosquitoes that cause the illness. Kung sabay-sabay nating pupuksain ang mga lamok, walang dengue. We have to have a conscious effort to look for and destroy the breeding sites and the mosquito population," she added.

Source: TheManila Times