ILOILO City – As part of its dengue control campaign this rainy season, the City Health Office (CHO) has started distributing larvicides to barangays and public elementary and high schools.
CHO assistant department head Dr. Mae Delmo said the easy-to-use powder should be sprinkled directly to areas or containers with stagnant water.
“Larvicides are one of the most effective to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. This is a kind of insecticide specifically used to kill mosquito larvae,” she added.
CHO recorded 114 dengue cases since January this year – higher than the 97 cases recorded in the same period last year.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III said the public must cooperate by doing dengue preventive measures.
Day-biting mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus that breed in stagnant water cause dengue.
“Prevention is everyone’s responsibility and this requires a lot of effort. We need to help each other to keep our environment free from the danger of mosquitoes,” he stressed.
CHO advised the public to clean their surroundings every day.
CHO head Dr. Bernard Caspe said some villages do not follow Resolution No. 2016-355 “establishing every Saturday as the Clean-Up Day in all Barangays in the City of Iloilo.”
“We have the ‘4 o’clock habit’ and city resolution which states that barangays should conduct cleanup activities every Saturday,” said Caspe.
The cleanup should be done every day to get rid of the breeding places of mosquitoes such as flower vases and pots and uncovered tanks.
Aegypti mosquito is referred as the primary vector found in urban areas and it usually rests in cool and dark corners of the house.
Albopictus mosquito is the secondary vector that maintains the virus in the environment and can be found in rural areas and breeds in containers. (Merianne Grace Ereñeta, Iloilo City PIO/PN)
