Anti-dengue movement posts positive results

Commitment and action. They say, it takes a village to educate a child. It also takes a village to protect that child from the dangers of dengue. Photos show the men and women in 10 barangays in Ormoc who volunteered at least two hours of their time to apply Temephos on pools, ponds and suspected areas where mosquitoes breed. The Anti-Dengue Movement is now showing positive results, said City Health Office. From top, clockwise: RCO’s Dominador Miro with co-Rotarians and the officials of Brgy. Naungan; the Temephos sachets and the group led by RCOB’s Luz Escalon at Brgy. Bagong Buhay. In Naungan, the Rotarians co-existed peacefully with Lions stalwarts for the service of humanity. A lady climbs up to a gutter to sprinkle Temephos and last, Dr. Chito Aviles sprinkles the larvicide at a canal at Brgy. Tambulilid. Another activity is slated come November and Rotarians are urging a wider participation. (File photos from the August 17 activity)

ROTARIANS IN this city are happy to hear that the simultaneous larvicidal activity held in the top 10 barangays of Ormoc with high incidence of dengue is showing positive results. This, after they received a report from Elsie Jaca, sentinel nurse of the City Health Office here, that the number of cases in the city have dropped drastically after applying the larvicidal Temephos last August 17.

Jaca said that after the application of Temephos, the number of cases for August dropped to only 25 compared to the 68 for the same period last year. 19 cases were reported before the Temephos application, while there were only 6 reported after, and zero from the barangays treated with the larvicide. For September, Jaca said, there were only 12 cases, compared to the 59 for the same period last year.

After the larvicidal activity, there were two reported cases from Ipil and Cogon, barangays that were included in the treatment, but she has a hunch that these cases were from areas that were not included. She said that in Cogon, one of the most populous and largest in area in the city, the concentration of the larvicidal treatment was done in the school area. Jaca, however, said she is cautious in concluding that the drop in cases is due to the larvicidal treatment. “We need another round to see if the results are conclusive”, she said, but admitted the results were more encouraging compared to all their efforts in the past.

There will be another round of larvicidal application on November. She hopes the areas treated would be expanded, to see if the result would be consistent. “If it is consistent”, she said, “I would propose that the larvicidal treatment be done city-wide and that the city funds it.” On the other hand, Atty. Luz Escalon, president of the Rotary Club of Ormoc Bay (RCOB), said she is happy to hear the results, adding this further encourages her and club members to continue the program.

She also expressed gratitude to members of the Rotary Club of Ormoc (RCO) led by its president, Troy Bumagat, for their joint efforts in executing the simultaneous larvicidal activity and other civic clubs like the Lions and other organizations that joined in. She added the activity could not also be successful without the wholehearted support of barangay officials and the barangay folks themselves who came out on August 17, early morning, to help sprinkle Temephos on pools and bodies of water in their villages. While the Rotary is willing to spearhead the continuation of the activity, Escalon said the city’s funding it was very much welcome.