MANILA, Philippines - The Taguig City government on Tuesday declared four of the city’s 28 barangays dengue-free as it reported that the incidence of the deadly disease dropped by 60 percent in the first seven months of the year as compared to the same period last year.
Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano said Barangays Ligid-Tipas, Napindan, San Miguel and Tuktukan have zero dengue cases reported for the first half of the year.
Cayetano said this could explain the sharp decline of reported cases from 390 in January to July last year to only 157 in the same period this year.
"I can say without a doubt that this is an accomplishment of the Taguig community as much as local health officials and other stakeholders. We all proved that working together to protect our loved ones is a shared responsibility for all of us," Mayor Cayetano said.
Cayetano also credited the drop in reported dengue cases to the vigilance of both the local government and the community and to the aggressive cleanup of esteros (creeks) that serve as breeding sites for the aedes aegypti mosquitos that carry the dengue virus.
Aside from the cleaning of creeks, the city government, through its Solid Waste Management Office, is also conducting an intensive declogging of drainages and the segregation of household garbage.
Meanwhile, Cayetano has advised city residents to continue doing their share in keeping Taguig City clean and dengue-free.
Cayetano said households should identify the breeding sites in and out of their houses and dispose of junk containers likes bottles, old tires, and tin cans that could serve as breeding grounds for mosquitos.
Cayetano also advised residents to keep containers that are still being used covered at all times, unclog roof gutters and to remove stagnant water on gutters and canals and daily check possible breeding sites for the presence of mosquito larvae.