Calbayog City fights Dengue

Mayor Reynaldo Uy as he delivered his message during yesterday's Anti-Dengue Day Program. (Photo by Henry Puyat)

Calbayog City – Mayor Reynaldo Uy on Friday spearheaded the City Government’s IWAS DENGUE Clean-Up Drive / Anti Dengue Days Program. The activity was launched through a simple program at the City Hall stage yesterday morning. Present were the SP members led by Vice Mayor Ronaldo Aquino, and the LGU employees led by their respective Department Managers.

The activity came to be by virtue of Executive Order No. 2 which Mayor Uy signed on July 22, 2010. EO 2 declared July 23 to 24, 2010 as “Iwas Dengue Days” in Calbayog City.

The Iwas Dengue Days Program is being spearheaded by the Tri-District Development Program Office and the City Health Office (CHO). It includes a simultaneous cleanup and information drive in all the barangays in the city. It is aimed at eradicating mosquitoes and preventing the spread of the dengue virus. It will be done simultaneously so that dislocated mosquitoes won’t transfer to other barangays when their domicile and breeding places in one barangay is disturbed.

The various Department Managers and their employees were assigned one barangay each. They will visit their assigned barangay / school, coordinate with the barangay / school officials and put in place the following basic or simple activities:

- Encourage residents/ students to clean their houses/classrooms & surrounding/ school campus.

- Look for stagnant water and throw these away.

- Discard empty containers so that it will not catch water when it rains.

- Turn empty bottles upside down so that it will not catch water.

- Unclog canals if necessary.

- Conduct information dissemination through for a “pulong-pulong”, “bandillo” and / or distribution of leaflets and other reading materials.

- Immediately report to the CHO suspected dengue cases.

On the other hand, the CHO will do the following:

- Get samples of larvae from barangays to determine the presence of larvae-carrying mosquitoes

- Treat with larvaecides canals and stagnant water which cannot be drained, spilled or thrown out

- Conduct information drive in the barangays

- Reproduce and provide leaflets and other reading materials on the dengue prevention, symptoms, and on what to do with suspect dengue victims.

More Anti Dengue Days (ADDs) will be held so as to cover all the 157 barangays of Calbayog. The July 23 & 24 ADDs is an initial step which covers the carline barangays of Calbayog namely Naga, Carayman, Bagacay, Rawis, East Awang, West Awang, Aguit-itan, Balud, Central, Carmen, Payahan, Obrero, Matobato, Capoocan, San Policarpo, Trinidad, Cagsalaosao, Lonoy, Palanas, Anislag, Begaho, Oquendo, Amampacang, Tinambacan Norte and Tinambacan Sur.

As per info from the CHO, Region 8 ranked first nationwide in the number of dengue cases reported; and Calbayog City ranked 5^th in Eastern Visayas.

City Health Officer Dr. Sylvia De Guzman giving the program rationale. (Photo by Joel Lagang/CTIO)

The CACO ISKOLARS leading the invocation.