THE Davao City Health Office (CHO) Tropical Diseases Prevention and Control Unit conducted fogging, misting, distribution of mosquito nets and mosquito repellant, and an information dissemination drive in the barangays, an official said.
"Gitutukan nato gikan sa first week of January ang [areas nga] ubay-ubay na clustered cases nga naay tag-tulo or tag-upat, gihatagan natog priority sa mga intervention (We prioritized since January areas with a considerable number of clustered cases)," CHO Tropical Diseases Prevention and Control Unit Coordinator Melodina Babante said in an interview with the City Information Office on Wednesday.
Babante said that these are Matina Aplaya, Barangay Panacan, Catalunan Grande, Barangay Tacunan, Barangay Angalan, Barangay 76-A--Bucana and SIR, Barangay Bunawan Prop[er and Barangay Buhangin Proper.
Barangay Officials from these areas have reached out and informed them of confirmed dengue cases.
Based on the result of the search and destroy activities in the said areas of concern, bromeliads - a type of plant that catches water - tires, plastic containers, and drums were found to have mosquito larvae or " kiti-kiti".
"Gipakusgan nato ang IEC on Dengue and Chikungunya sa purok-purok (We strengthened the IEC on Dengue and Chikungunya in the puroks)," Babante said.
Like dengue, Chikungunya is also transmitted by Aedes Egypti mosquitoes.
She added that data from the Department of Health Region XI revealed that a 40-year-old male living in Baguio District acquired Chigunkunya in the first week of January.
Chikungunya symptoms include high fever, severe joint pains, conjunctivitis, and rashes.
"Gihatagan napud og intervention nag- conduct ta'g search and destroy activity in the area (We also extended intervention and conducted search and destroy activity in the area)," she said.
They also conduct IECs in non-hot spot barangays and their staff also attend barangay council meetings to push for the establishment of a Barangay Dengue Task Force.
"Mas advantageous gyud nga naa sila'y mosquito-borne task force at least diha-diha ma-aksyunan dayon, ang household surveillance sila na mismo (Having a mosquito-borne diseases task force is an advantage because it means immediate action, they can conduct household surveillance themselves)" Babante said.
She asked Dabawenyos to clean their environment and not rely on fogging and misting done by their office as repeated use of chemical intervention may lead to chemical resistance by mosquitoes.
"Dili magsalig kay kumng walay breeding place, wala'y lamok, iyabo tanan inyong containers every two days (You should not depend on (misting or fogging) because if there are no breeding place, there will be no mosquitoes, you should throw water from your containers every two days)," Babante said, adding that this is a must, especially in the light of the rainy season.
She said their office is seeking the immediate implementation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Ordinance No. 0401, series of 2020, or the City Health Office Mosquito-Borne Viral Disease Prevention Program.
She said that hopefully, after an extensive information drive, they will be able to implement the ordinance that penalizes citizens who were not able to observe proper search and destroy measures.
Babante said that their office, in partnership with the City Mayor's Office, is laying the groundwork for a monthly simultaneous city-wide clean-up drive that aims to reduce and prevent the number of mosquito-borne diseases in the city. CIO