AT LEAST 5,000 City Hall employees visited 49 urban barangays in Cebu City yesterday as the city government started a larvicide campaign against dengue.
The anti-mosquito measure needs people to to apply a special chemical in potential breeding grounds to kill mosquito larvae.
Dr. Daisy Villa, Cebu City Health Department chief, said this was the first step of the city’s anti-dengue campaign.
Seven deaths caused by dengue have been reported in Cebu city since January.
The larvae of a mosquito is the stage of development after eggs hatch.
“It is better to stop the mosquito at the first stage,” said Villa.
The chemicals remain effective for three to four months but can be washed away by flowing water, she said.
The next step is the use of curtain impregnation — curtains laced in insecticide — and misting to contain adult mosquitoes in an area before these will be killed.
“We have to prevent it from spreading to other barangays by putting chemicals in areas where mosquitoes stay like canals and empty containers. Some of us have to climb houses to check the roof and gutters where mosquitoes also stay,” she said.
Villa asked barangays and the communities to cooperate in the fight against dengue.
“We just have to clean our surroundings. Barangays and communities have to sustain this practice to make sure mosquitoes don’t accumulate. Revive the 4 p.m. habit of cleaning up, not burning to make smoke,” she said.
Villa said the Department of Health and some nongovernment organizations have donated larvicide stocks for the campaign so she isn’t worried about the budget.
Villa said the health office activiated its free blood tests for CBC and platelet count in seven barangays (Pardo, Punta Princesa, Guadalupe, Barrio Luz, Mabolo, Talamban, and Pari-an). The service is available during office hours.
After 5 p.m., one can visit the Cebu City Medical Center for free service for dengue patients and suspected victims..”
The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council is drafting a proposal to declare e the city under a state of preparedness, said Councilor Dave Tumulak.
Tumulak said the city is ready to add at least P4.5 million in the anti-dengue campaign of the City Health Department.