DOH to rally LGU support vs dengue

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) will meet with barangay and local government officials to seek their support in the campaign against dengue which has afflicted 116,699 people from January to October this year.

The figure is 143.3 percent higher than the 47,955 cases recorded by the health department during the same period in 2009.

Dr. Lyndon Leesuy, program manager of the DOH’s National Dengue Control Program, said they are planning to meet with local officials and barangay leaders, especially those elected in the May 10 and Oct. 25 polls conducted this year, respectively, to emphasize the need to strengthen efforts against dengue.

“What the DOH can do is limited. We cannot go to your houses to eliminate the breeding sites of mosquitoes or to cover your water containers where mosquitoes can breed. We need the support of those in the communities,” he said.

According to Leesuy, getting rid of anything where mosquitoes can thrive is the best method to fight dengue. Fumigation can be done only when there is an impending dengue outbreak or if an outbreak had already taken place.

“Mosquitoes are killed through defogging but to effectively do that, timing is important. There are time and winds to consider. It should also be done only by trained individuals,” he added.

Dengue is transmitted by bites of female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which have white stripes in the legs.

They also bite only during the day and they thrive in clean and stagnant waters.

DOH records show the death toll from dengue in January-October 2009 was 480 and 704 during the same period in 2010.

A majority of the cases come from Western Visayas (20,843); followed by Calabarzon (16,651); Metro Manila (144,119); Central Visayas (9,145) and Soccsksargen (8,820).