A dengue alert website developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has flagged 16 public schools in Cebu province as possible dengue sites.
In these schools, ovicidal-larvicidal (OL) traps were installed to control the mosquito population.
The schools are marked with red balloons on the map featured on the Dengue Vector Surveillance website www.dengue.ph.
Ronya Bayan, science research specialist I at the DOST regional office, said the red balloons indicate “alert,” which means that interventions are needed to bring down or eradicate the mosquito population in the area.
White balloons mean the mosquitoes in the area are too few to cause a dengue incident.
The balloons are based on the ovitrap index, which is computed by dividing the number of OL traps found to contain mosquito eggs and larvae by the total number of OL traps installed in the school.
“The threshold is 20 percent. If the ovitrap index is more than 20 percent, the school is marked with a red balloon,” Bayan said.
The OL trap, developed by DOST, consists of a black container, a lawanit paddle where mosquitoes lay their eggs, and a pack of pellets to make a solution that kills the eggs and larvae of mosquitoes.
Bayan said they distributed OL traps to public schools nationwide.
In Cebu, 18 schools have installed the OL traps. A total of 51 schools in Central Visayas region, including 11 in Negros Oriental, have OL traps. Twelve schools in Bohol and 11 in Siquijor also participated in the program.
Bayan said the schools check the OL traps weekly for mosquito eggs and larvae. The results are sent by text message to the DOST and are automatically encoded to the website.
Clicking on the red balloon would show the name of the school, ovitrap index, date recorded and the recommended interventions. Clicking on the school name would show a line graph of the mosquito population in the area over a certain period.
Yesterday, three schools reported an ovitrap index of more than 20 percent: Kamburoy Elementary School in Samboan town, 35.71 percent; Busay Elementary School in Cebu City, 62.25 percent; and Catmon National High School, 69.44 percent.
Thirteen other schools have not yet updated their results. They showed ovitrap indices beyond the threshold from July to September this year.
These are: Samboan National High School, Ocaña National High School, Naga National High School, Cantabaco National High School, Cebu City National Science High School, Ibabao-Estancia
Elementary School, Talamban National High School, Jugan National High School, Ramon Durano Science and Technology Education Center, Kal-anan National High School, Libjo National High School, Luyang National High School and Daanbantayan National High School.
Recommended actions for these schools include an all-out clean-up campaign and pest control measures.
Four schools, which reported an ovitrap index of 1.9 percent to 11.76 percent since September 23, are marked with white balloons. These are Liburon Elementary School, Cansaga Elementary School, General Climaco National High School, and Don Vicente Rama Memorial Elementary School. These schools are advised to continue clean-up activities to prevent dengue cases.