DOH installs insecticide-treated net curtains in all Central Visayas schools

Jaime Bernadas, Department of Health Central Visayas director, shows the insecticide-treated net curtains that they plan to install in all schools in Region 6 as part of its campaign to prevent the spread of dengue. —Photo by Dale Israel, Inquirer Visayas

CEBU CITY –– To prevent the spread of dengue, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) has intensified the installation of insecticide-treated net curtains in all schools around the region.

DOH-7 director Jaime Bernadas said they have installed the “net curtains” in around 50 percent of all schools in Central Visayas.

The curtains will kill mosquitos and other insects upon contact with the chemical-treated nets that can be placed in the doors and windows of the classrooms.

Bernadas said meshed curtains can last up to five years if they are not washed up in the rain.

These are targeted in schools because mosquitos attack or feed from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. when children are mostly in the schools.

The insecticide-treated mosquito nets are available upon request at the DOH-7 also.

Some of these have been distributed to local government units with priority to areas that have a high incidence of dengue.

Bernadas said the insecticide-treated curtains or nets are safe to humans but deadly to mosquitos.

As of now, Central Visayas has 11,085 cases of dengue from Jan. 1 to Aug. 3.

The numbers are not of epidemic proportion and are also expected to downtrend as compared to other regions, Bernadas added.

But the region is still on “alert threshold level” since the number of dengue cases is higher than the previous year.

The number of dengue deaths in the region is pegged at 74.

Most of the cases are in Cebu City covering 13.5 percent of all the cases in the region.

The rest are Lapu-Lapu City, 6 percent; Mandaue City, 4.1 and Danao City, 2.7 – all in Cebu; and 2.7 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

Last Tuesday, the DOH declared a national dengue epidemic because the “staggering” rate of infection was placed at 5,100 cases per week.

Dengue is caused by a virus carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

It has four known strains and can be fatal. There is no known cure. The infection triggers a severe flu-like illness, often followed by a severe drop in a patient’s blood platelet count.