4 o'clock habit vs dengue launched

THE City Health Office (CHO) insisted that only cleanliness can prevent dengue hence, it launched Friday the "4 o'clock habit".

In pushing communities to act against dengue, City Health Officer Josephine Villafuerte said the cooperation of barangays in Davao City has really improved thus, the gradual decrease in dengue cases.

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"We recorded around 470 dengue cases as of last month. This month, partial records say that we only have around 170," Villafuerte said, showing a graph that presented the number of dengue cases in the city.

All barangays in Davao City are expected to cooperate. "By 4 p.m., everyone will simultaneously clean their surroundings," said Villafuerte.

The 4 O'clock Habit is supported by the City Mayor's office, ABS-CBN network and the League of Barangay Councils.

Villafuerte added that through the 4 O'clock habit, the office will be able to instill in the whole of Davao City the 4S: Search and destroy breeding places, seek early treatment, self-protective measures and say yes to fogging only during outbreaks.

"Hopefully the decrease would be steady kasi iba na ang dengue ngayon, severe na ang manifestations," Villafuerte added.

Meanwhile, after successfully treating 183 malaria cases in Gumitan last month, the CHO medical team went back and treated four new cases in the area. In Paquibato, where they previously treated 94 cases, they were able to treat 37 new cases.

The CHO medical team will be going back to another sitio next week to treat more cases of malaria.