A local health official is calling the officials of Zamboanga City's 98 villages to organize a Barangay Dengue Control Team (BDCT) in their respective places.
Dr. Rodel Agbulos, city health officer, made the call citing every sector's assistance is needed to control if not eradicate dengue cases.
Agbulos has hoisted the alarm level in Zamboanga City to a "very high alert level" as the number of dengue cases as well as fatalities has already surpassed last year's number of cases.
Agbulos said the number of dengue cases since January up to the first week of July this year have already reached 1,052 with nine fatalities.
In 2009, there were 1,029 dengue cases with eight fatalities, Agbulos added.
The health official said he will arrange a meeting with all of the village councilors who are the chairman of the committee on health to discuss the proper way of eradicating breeding ground of mosquito-carrying dengue in the villages.
He said the breeding ground of mosquito-carrying dengue must be eradicated citing fumigation only kills the adult mosquitoes but not the larva.
He said cleanliness in the surroundings and sanitation is the most effective and no-cost prescription to dengue fever.
He said the month of June this year has the highest number of dengue cases at 302.
The second highest was last February with 158 cases followed by January with 156, March with 149, May with 123, and April with 93.
There were already 87 cases of dengue as of the middle of July this year, Agbulos said.
Agbulos added that there is a need for everybody's efforts to fight dengue to prevent it from reaching an outbreak level. (Bong Garcia)