TINY BUT DEADLY. A tweezer holds a mosquito at the Pasteur Institute in the southern Vietnamese city of Nha Trang where research is under way to find a natural method to stop the tiny but deadly insect from spreading the virus, which has caused a surge in dengue cases in Southeast Asia this year. —AFP
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Health Department is preparing for dengue season as cases of mosquito-borne illness is expected to rise in the months of July and August.
Cebu City spokesperson, Rey Gealon, said that aside from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, the city health is also preparing for the usual seasonal illnesses such as dengue.
It is more crucial that the city prepares for these diseases as the residents need to be generally healthy to combat the COVID-19, and any more outbreaks may once again overwhelm the already stretched out health care system.
Despite being already busy with COVID-19, the City Health will still continue their seasonal anti-dengue campaign of fogging, misting, and curtain impregnation.
“Walay angay kabalak-an kay kini gumikan kay apil na kini sa schedule year-round sa atong dakbayan. Gianticipate na nila ang pagsaka sa dengue tungod sa tingulan,” said Gealon.
(Do not worry because this is already part of the schedule, year-round, in our city. We have anticipated the rise of dengue due to the rainy season.)
Gealon urged the public to do their part as well by checking their homes for possible breeding grounds of dengue such as stagnant water in basins and canals.
Cleaning the surroundings would also help ensure that mosquitoes will not have a chance to breed.
Based on the data of the Department of Health, the city has a total of 700 dengue cases since January 1 to July 18, 2020. The city also had six deaths of the disease, leading in the entire region in the most dengue infested local government unit.
The Cebu City Health Department in previous statements said that the best way to combat dengue is to practice the habit of checking their homes every four o’clock, a time in which mosquitoes may begin to fly around and check the possible source of these mosquitoes to destroy these breeding grounds./dbs