Robredo to mayors: Hold village chiefs liable for dengue outbreak

MANILA, Philippines -  Mayors can hold their barangay chairmen accountable for the outbreak of dengue in their areas of jurisdiction, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said yesterday.

Local officials, he said, should “enforce environmental sanitation” measures such as the dredging of clogged canals, esteros and other waterways; pruning of thick bushes or tree branches; removal or drainage of receptacles containing stagnant water; and conducting a massive information drive on environmental control of breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Robredo asked local chief executives to undertake a cleanup drive to stop the disease from spreading.

The Department of Health (DOH) has recorded a total of 226 deaths due to dengue, mostly children, this year. The DOH’s National Capital Region (NCR) office has earmarked P5 million for fumigation and larvicidal traps in Metro Manila after it found that 33 areas in the metropolis are hotspots for dengue.

“We are now intensifying our efforts to combat dengue so we are doing cleaning and mosquito control operations in the entire Metro Manila simultaneously this week,” said DOH-NCR director Dr. Ed Janairo.

Janairo noted the P5-million budget allocated by the DOH-NCR for the program is not enough so they will ask for P10 million more from the DOH main office.

Dengue cases in Metro Manila have risen by 12 percent or from 10,582 last year to 12,598 this year. Pasig City registered the highest increase, from 189 to 800 cases.

Meanwhile, a recent study conducted by the Department of Science and Technology showed that the mosquito traps designed by the DOST’s Industrial Technology and Design Institute has significantly reduced the number of dengue cases in some regions.

There were zero dengue cases reported in Ballesteros and Claveria towns in Cagayan, which were declared dengue hotspots last year.

In Eastern Visayas, where the mosquito trap was initially launched, five barangays in Northern Samar, Southern Leyte, and Leyte had no dengue cases after the trap was used.

Dr. Josephine Ibalo, DOH dengue coordinator in Bukidnon, reported 36 cases in the whole province this year as of Aug. 10, a significant decrease from last year’s 1,087 cases and 16 deaths.

The trap works by attracting the mosquito, through the trap’s black color and organic solution, to lay its eggs in the trap. The solution then kills the eggs and the larvae, thus eliminating the next generation of mosquitoes.– With Sheila Crisostomo, Helen Flores