DOST orients Central Luzon public school chiefs on mosquito traps

By Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu

Tuesday 24th of July 2012

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, July 24 (PIA) -- The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) held an orientation for elementary and secondary public school division chiefs in Central Luzon on the proper and effective use of Ovicidal Larvicidal (OL) traps that can help prevent the spread of dengue.

DOST Regional Director Victor Mariano said, “We decided to distribute OL traps to public schools as the most vulnerable to the disease are kids. The children usually spend the better half of a day inside classrooms when dengue-carrying mosquitoes are most active. The installation of these devices outside and inside classrooms provides week-long protection against mosquito bites as the OL solution can last up to six days before needing to be replaced.”

Mariano said each OL trap consists of a black container, a small strip of “lawanit” wood and a larvicidal solution.

The scent of the solution attracts female mosquitoes to lay eggs on the stick of the container and when hatched gets exposed to the solution and die.

The Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI), an agency under the DOST, developed the simple, yet highly effective system. It is safe and easy to use and does not contain any harmful chemicals or toxins.

Dengue is a disease caused by the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is active during daytime. Headache, fever, muscle and joint pains and skin rashes characterize the disease. In extreme cases, gums and nose may bleed. (WLB/CLJD-PIA3)