Taguig City steps up drive vs dengue before school opening

Saturday 2nd of June 2012

TAGUIG CITY, June 2 (PIA) –- Two days before school opening on Monday, June 4, the city government of Taguig through the City Health Office has stepped up its campaign against dengue.

In a release, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano directed the City Health Office (CHO) to intensify the anti-dengue drive.

“We are targeting public schools because students are most vulnerable to the disease,” said Dr. Isaias Ramos, OIC-chief of the City Health Office.

Ramos also said that misting operations are regularly done on weekends in the city’s 34 public elementary and secondary schools.

Likewise, Dr. Ramos added that with the onset of the rainy season, the CHO is also set to make the month of June “Dengue Awareness Month” and launch a city-wide anti-dengue campaign during the entire month.

The campaign includes misting and larvicidal operations, barangay-level lectures on dengue prevention, cleanup drives, and de-clogging of waterways like creeks and canals to eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

According to the city government, each of the city’s 28 barangays has their own Dengue Task Force headed by the respective barangay chair, to help in the campaign against dengue.

Data from the CHO shows that from January to April this year, the reported number of dengue cases in Taguig stood at 277, lower by 27 percent compared to the 365 cases recorded for the same period last year.

Ramos is also confident that with the active campaign against the disease, the number of dengue cases in the city will post a significant drop for the entire 2012.

Meanwhile, Mayor Cayetano said that cleanliness is the ultimate weapon in the fight against dengue.

“We are constantly reminding our barangay chair and local leaders to clean their communities to eliminate breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” added Cayetano.

She also announced plans to open at least 4 “Super Health Centers,” which will be open 24/7 and properly equipped to serve as mini hospitals for emergency cases. (TAGUIG-PIO/RJB/JEG-PIA-NCR)