Luistro orders school cleanup to combat dengue

MANILA, Philippines - Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro yesterday encouraged parents and other members of communities across the country to participate in massive cleanup activities in public schools to combat dengue.

The education secretary said a school-wide cleaning program will be implemented in public elementary and high schools from Nov. 2 to 8 as the number of dengue cases continues to rise.

 “We need to work together and pool our efforts together to combat dengue,” Luistro said in Filipino.

The secretary also instructed all regional directors and school health nutrition personnel to coordinate with local offices of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in identifying schools in critical areas with high dengue incidence.

Luistro joined DOH Secretary Janette Garin and DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman in the launch of the partnership in Marikina City yesterday.

The officials led the distribution of insecticide-treated screens at Parang Elementary School.

Meanwhile, Garin said yesterday the DOH has no plans yet to buy a vaccine against dengue should one be available in the market. She said the DOH will have to allocate “billions” of pesos to include the anti-dengue vaccine in its Expanded Program on Immunization.

Manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is applying for a license with the Food and Drug Administration to market the vaccine in the Philippines. – Janvic Mateo, Sheila Crisostomo