Cebu City starts misting in five dengue-stricken barangays

CEBU, Philippines - Following the recent death of two children because of dengue, the Cebu City Health Department started yesterday an outdoor misting procedure yesterday in five barangays with the most number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

City Health Department Chief Daisy Villa also defended her office from the allegation that they became complacent in sustaining efforts to address the alarming rise in the number of cases and casualties related to dengue.

Department of Health-7 data showed that Cebu City still has the highest number of dengue (831 cases, seven deaths) incidents not only in Cebu province but in the whole Central Visayas.

It is followed by Lapu-Lapu City (212 cases, one death); Sagbayan (201 cases, one death); Guihulngan (168 cases, no death); Dumaguete City (164 cases, one death); Tagbilaran City (163 cases, one death); Toledo City (154 cases, two deaths); and Mandaue City (134 cases, two deaths).

In response to the situation, CHD said it had been collaborating with the barangays in the city for community-based involvement for immediate interventions,

Villa said their office will be coordinating with barangay officials to come up with comprehensive plans suitable for the locality in administering methods for mosquito control.

Yesterday, five teams from CHD went to Pasil, San Nicolas Proper, Tisa, Guadalupe, and Suba to conduct misting.

Villa, though, said they are not only focusing in Suba, where the two sisters died, but were also including the neighboring villages.

Apart from the misting activity, CHD also did environmental surveys on how to prevent and lessen dengue incidents in the barangays.

She advised residents to listen to local health officials on the proper ways to eradicate dengue cases especially with the erratic weather condition at this time.

Families are also urged to take the initiative in doing household-based action, such as practicing the daily “4 o’clock habit,” where people are advised to stop from their individual activities at 4 p.m. to take time in searching inside and outside their homes for possible breeding places of mosquitoes.

Health officials stressed that though mosquitoes cannot be eliminated, destroying their breeding sites, such as containers where water can be stored, would help lessen their number. — (FREEMAN)