Toledo to reward brgys with few dengue cases

The Toledo City government has promised incentives for the top ten barangays with the fewest dengue cases.

Mayor Arlene Zambo said that the city government will give at least P20,000 to these barangays as a way of encouraging barangay residents to clean up their surrounding and eliminate the possible breeding sites of the dengue carrier mosquitoes.

The figures will be based on a three-month period starting this month.  The city has 38 barangays.

Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an aedes aegypti mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms appear three to 14 days after the infective bite.

This infectious disease is manifested by a sudden onset of fever with severe headache, muscle and joint pains.

The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person.  According to the World Health Organization, there were 188,684 cases of dengue reported in 2006 alone and the number is increasing every year.  — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/BRP