THE Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas has urged the community to clean areas where water is stocked, as well as abandoned places to prevent the spread of dengue virus.

DOH Regional Director Marlyn Convocar said in a press conference Monday, July 22, that people should not be cleaning just the roads, but also areas where water may possibly accumulate, as well as abandoned buildings, stressing it is in these areas where mosquitoes live.

“Anong ining lugar? Mga bakante nga lote sa subdivision, mga housing projects nga nauntat na. Kung kadtuan mo, damo damo na da lamok (What are these places? Vacant lots in subdivisions, housing projects that were not continued. If you visit these areas, you will find a lot of mosquitoes),” she said.

She made the statement after noticing that in most clean-up drives, people are focused on cleaning the roads.

“Once nga mauntat lang naton ang breeding place niya, sobra na sa tunga ya macontrol gid ya naton pero panilhig ka lang ya sa dalan nga wala sang tubig, wala gid ya epekto (Once we find their breeding place, we can control its number be more than half, but by just sweeping the road where there is no water, there will be no effects),” Convocar said.

She also said that the people should clean gardens, especially plants with huge leaves, as well as roofs, water dispensers and flower bases.

“So, kung tanan kita tanan naga ubra sina, ma control gid naton ang dengue ya (If all of us will do these, we can control the spread of dengue),” she said. (SunStar Philippines)