Doctors go on dengue offensive

Health workers and doctors will visit barangays in Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay cities tomorrow to eliminate mosquito larvae.

Dr. Wyben Briones said over 100 kilos of Abate larvicide were prepared for the one-day campaign.

“The best control of (dengue-causing) mosquito is made during its larval stage,” said Briones in a press conference yesterday to announce the group’s 2nd Cebu Inter-Larvicide campaign.

The campaign will include local government units, barangay officials, medical groups and rotary clubs.

Briones said that when the campaign was launched last year, it helped reduce dengue cases in Cebu City by 36 percent.

A total of 1,659 cases and 13 deaths were reported from Jan. 1 to Sept. 15 compared with the 1,061 cases and nine deaths reported during the same period this year.

The doctors are pushing their campaign to control mosquito larva because the Department of Health is focusing on the “four S” campaign against dengue.

The “four S” campaign involves searching and destroying possible breeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, wearing of long-sleeved shirts, seeking health professionals for fever that lasts two days or more and saying no to indiscriminate fogging.

“The most effective control of dengue virus can be achieved by the control of its vector (Aedes mosquito),” he said.

With this in mind, Briones said medical associations in Cebu, Rotary clubs and business groups contributed Abate larvicide, which cost P6,300 per kilo.

Tomorrow, 200 dengue teams of four persons each will visit possible breeding ground areas for larvae.

They will then put a gram of the larvicide per square meter of stagnant water.

Target areas are the top 40 dengue-affected barangays in Cebu City. The list includes Basak San Nicolas, now the city’s top affected barangay, and the top 20 dengue affected areas in the cities of Lapu Lapu, Talisay and Mandaue.

The larvicide would be effective for two to four months.