Swimming pools eyed as dengue breeding sites

The Muntinlupa government is eyeing the inspection of swimming pools in the posh Ayala Alabang Village after dengue cases in the city increased by 337 percent during the first half of the year.

Omar Acosta, the city’s public information officer, said that health officials were monitoring the area because it was among the barangays where the majority of cases were recorded.

“We are considering reviving the inspection of pools similar to what we [did] last year because these pools, especially those [left] unattended, could be breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” Acosta said.

According to Acosta, some of the pools might have been left unattended by their owners who could have gone out of town or overseas.

A total of 258 cases of dengue, including five deaths, were recorded in Muntinlupa City from January to July this year.

“There was a marked increase in the number of cases. It’s 337 percent higher compared to the same period last year with only 59 cases,” Acosta said although he stressed that the figure was not high enough for the declaration of an outbreak.

Aside from Alabang, health officials are also closely monitoring Barangays (villages) Potatan, Tunasan, Poblacion, Bayanan, Cupang and Buli, which have been declared as dengue hotspots.

Mayor Aldrin San Pedro, meanwhile, directed hospitals to establish dengue fast-lane counters.

Residents experiencing dengue symptoms were encouraged to undergo testing in barangay centers.

“We are now in the first phase of actualizing all the activities drafted in our work plan so as to [reduce] the fast-doubling rate of dengue cases to avoid an outbreak. Right now, we are keeping an eye on those hot spots where cases are fast surging,” San Pedro said.

The action plan calls for providing additional laboratory supplies, medicines, oral rehydrating solutions, and laboratory tests (CBC and platelet) free of charge to indigent city citizens.

Cleanup drives will also be conducted in various communities to get rid of possible breeding sites for mosquitoes along with the formation of new barangay dengue task groups, the organization of an entomological team composed primarily of doctors and sanitary inspectors in every community where dengue cases have been reported and the activation of dengue fast lanes in all health centers.

Schools will likewise be provided with free olyset (permethrin treated mosquito nets) from the World Health Organization.