Naga presses fight vs dengue

By Armie B. Gunay NAGA CITY --- The city government here has called for the cooperation of the residents in their common effort to reduce the rising cases of dengue cases in the barangays. The City Health Office (CHO) reported 399 dengue cases as of the month of September this year— an increase of 147.82% compared to the 207 dengue cases reported during the same period last year. Topping the list among the 27 barangays of the city is Barangay Cararayan, with 55 reported dengue cases. It is followed by Concepcion Pequeña with 50 cases; San Felipe with 36; Balatas , Concepcion Grande and Pacol with 25 cases each; and Triangulo with 21 dengue cases. City Councilor Dr. Jose “Sonny” Rañola, the Vice Chairman of the Naga City Health Board, said they are now focusing on the Search and Destroy operation, with the assistance of the Barangay Health Workers (BHW). Despite the rising dengue cases as reported by the media, City Health Officer Dr. Vito “Butch” Borja, assured there is no need to declare the city under the state of calamity, given the relatively less number of cases, compared to the 1, 200 reported dengue cases in 2012 when the city was last declared to be under the state of calamity. Dr. Borja also encourages the participation of every household in eradicating the breeding area of the Aedes Egypti mosquito which is the carrier of the dengue virus. Idle vehicle tires filled with stagnant water are observed to be the favorite breeding grounds for the dengue-carrying mosquitos. And these idle tires were present in the top 5 baranagays with most number of dengue cases, Borja said. Although the Department of Health (DOH) has already introduced the dengue vaccine in some of areas in the country, such vaccine has yet to arrive in Bicol, Borja said as he hoped that they would soon be available here. Meanwhile, fogging and misting operations continue every Saturday and Sunday in the barangays in the city. The city health officer, for good measure, advise households to use mosquito nets and put window screens. He said dengue-afflicted mosquitos normally prey in the crtical hours of the morning -- from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. His office is also reminding all residents to continue to observe the 4 o’clock clean- up habit, especially in this rainy season. The city has so far expended P800,000 in the fogging and misting operation, including the cost of equipment supplies and machineries, along with other measures to combat dengue. The city government believes that the fight can be won with the cooperation of every household in the city.