Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Talk back: Mayor’s plan in fighting dengue By Dr. Milagros Mahilum-Grief Germany
THIS is in reaction to the article, “Declaration up today before Cebu City Council: Tomas seeks focus on its symptoms” (Sun.Star Cebu, Oct. 5, 2007).
Mayor Tomas Osmeña does not seem to know the real situation of the dengue problem that the city is facing.
His plan to focus on the detection of dengue symptoms is absolutely wrong.
How can this help solve the dengue problem?
Knowing the dengue symptoms is not a solution because there is no medicine for dengue patients.
Meanwhile, without the Aedes mosquito, there will be no dengue cases, meaning, one should prevent the growth of mosquito larvae or pito-pito.
The pito-pito is found in clean and stagnant water in metal drums, plastic containers, discarded tires, etc.
The mayor should thus focus instead on community participation in eliminating the Aedes mosquito larvae.
This can be done through educational campaigns.
This is more effective than buying laboratory equipments to detect dengue symptoms.
Residents must be given information about dengue so they may be able to understand the problem and participate in the elimination of breeding sites of mosquitoes.
The best way to control the mosquitoes is when they are still in larval stage or when they are still pito-pito or ngoyo-ngoyo.
Some suggestions:
--People storing water in barrels and plastic containers should cover these with nets or lids so the female mosquito can not lay their eggs there.
Sometimes, mosquitoes still lay eggs even if the barrels are covered, especially when somebody opens the lid to get water.
In this case, the barrels and plastic containers should be cleaned at least once a week.
--Vulcanizing shops storing old discarded tires should cover these tires with cellophane or plastic so these won’t be filled with water when it rains.
--Small plastic cups and other small receptacles that can accumulate water should be emptied.
All of the above methods can only be realized:
--If the people have knowledge about dengue, which can be done through educational campaigns given by barangay health officials to the people, especially the women.
--Through community participation.
All residents should clean their surrounding because if only one family does that, dengue fever will remain because the Aedes mosquito can fly about one kilometer in search of human blood.
Sustained “community participation” is still the strongest aspect of a successful mosquito control campaign and the most effective way of minimizing dengue cases.
An integrated community-based approach, with volunteers from the village, is the most important part of a mosquito control program.
Women are of vital importance since their participation enhances the effort to reach individual households and ensures sustained community support.
Of course, government coordination, close supervision, monitoring and evaluation and, last but not the least, team work among public health personnel, local volunteers, entomologists, etc. are necessary to successfully reduce transmission of the dengue virus.
Only through this approach can the mayor help in saving the lives of people, especially the children.
His plan to focus on the detection of dengue symptoms is like fighting a war without the proper weapon.
