THE Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) urges the barangay officials to conduct clean-up drive program within their village to help prevent dengue cases in the city.
Dr. Grace Tan, CHO-Environmental Sanitation Division head, said the barangay officials have a big role to prevent the dengue cases in their barangay.
“They can initiate a clean-up drive within their village for the benefits of their constituents,” she said.
Tan noted that last week, residents in Barangay Mansilingan also held their clean up drive to destroy the breeding ground of mosquitoes.
“So we encourage the same with the other barangays to do the clean-up drive. Each household, each community should have their own initiatives on how to prevent the dengue cases in their barangay,” Tan said.
She said that dengue cases also increase in the months of July and August because it’s a rainy season.
“Study shows that even a drop of rain could be a breeding ground of mosquitoes that can lay 100 eggs at a time,” she added.
Tan pointed out that the public should also continue adapting the “4S” program of the Department of Health.
The 4S stands for search and destroy mosquito breeding places; use self-protection measures; seek early consultation for fever lasting more than two days; and say no to indiscriminate fogging.
CHO records showed from January to June that Bacolod has a total of 477 dengue cases, with three deaths, all young children.
The latest is the two-year-old girl from Barangay Granada who died on June 24 at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.
Of 477 cases, Barangay Estefania posted the highest number of cases with 56.
Others included Barangays Tangub with 35 cases; Pahanocoy and Taculing, 31 each; Granada, 30; Handumanan and Mansilingan, 28 each; Alijis, 27; Mandalagan, 25; Villamonte, 23; Singcang-Airport, 22; Bata, 21; Sum-ag, 18; and Banago, 16.
“It’s not an outbreak here, but the data will increase if we will not do our share,” Tan said.
She said the CHO also intensified its information drive in various barangays with the assistance of the office of Congressman Greg Gasataya.
“Through awareness, we can motivate our constituents to do their share. We need to eradicate and destroy all breeding and nesting places of mosquitoes to prevent dengue. We should clean our environment,” she added.
Tan disclosed that the two most prominent species that transmit viruses are Aedes aegypti mosquito, which stays inside the house; and Aedes albopictus mosquito, which stays outside, transmit the viruses that cause dengue fever, yellow fever, among others.