Sewers, septic tanks can be dengue breeding ground

MANILA, Philippines—Have sewers and septic tanks inspected as they can be a breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes, a health official said Tuesday.

Eduardo Janairo, regional director of the Center for Health Development Metro Manila, warned Metro Manila residents that dengue mosquitoes could breed in stagnant water in sewers or septic tanks.

Sewage systems should be inspected and repaired for damages as mosquitoes can enter through small cracks in them, he said.

“These are now the places where mosquitoes breed… (It is) conducive for mosquitoes to lay their eggs because the water on top is clear and stationary,” he said.

“Sometimes we are wondering why there are still mosquitoes in our surroundings even with a daily clean-up activity and the reason is that, they keep multiplying inside our sewage system. The least place where we expect them to survive,” Janairo explained.

A total of 24,359 cases of dengue have been monitored from January 1 to November 12 in Metro Manila alone—11 percent higher than last year’s 21,997 cases.

The CHD-MM said that 132 of the patients died.

Janairo identified the cities with large numbers of dengue cases as Quezon City, 7,782; Manila, 3,618; Caloocan, 2,626; Valenzuela, 1,457; Pasig, 1,237; Paranaque, 1,059; Malabon, 1,035; Taguig, 765; Pasay, 727; and Muntinlupa, 666.

He urged the public to immediately report suspected dengue cases directly to CHD-MM 24/7 through the following cellphone numbers: Smart 09478138420, Globe 09178247459, or Sun 09231119600.