Clean your yard or face jail time

CEBU, Philippines - As one way to fight dengue in Cebu City, Councilor Jose Daluz III has proposed an ordinance compelling the heads of families and company managers to clean their respective surroundings and destroy the breeding sites of mosquitoes.

If the ordinance will be approved by the City Council and signed by the mayor, jail terms shall be imposed against owners, managers, administrators, caretakers of schools, vacant lots, abandoned houses and business establishments in Cebu City who failed to get rid of vector breeding grounds, particularly stagnant water.

Daluz said he decided to propose the ordinance because he is aware of the shortage of government’s human and financial resources in addressing the public health problem that may lead to endemic outbreak.

He said that while city officials have acknowledged the achievement of the personnel of the Cebu City Health department in reducing the case fatality rate of dengue in Cebu City compared to previous years there is still a need to reduce the number of deaths.

Statistics show that 13 children in Cebu City died of dengue virus last year while over 3,000 others landed in hospitals, although the number of dengue-related deaths was much lower compared to the previous years.

The proposed ordinance gave some ideas on how to stop mosquitoes from breeding including getting rid of stagnant water, covering at all times water drums and containers, cutting up old and discarded tires and throwing away unused tins, cans, jars and pots.  Gutters of roofs must be maintained free from accumulation of rainwater, while abandoned swimming pools should be treated with larvicide.

Bamboo poles and other plant vases that may accumulate water should be always be checked because these are potential breeding place of the aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the dengue virus.

The ordinance also encourage the heads of families to immediately report to the nearest health centers if a member of their family experiences severe fever so that the health personnel can monitor their situation.

The health and Cebu City Medical Center officials are mandated to always provide free Complete Blood Count tests to patients with high fever to determine if they have dengue.   (FREEMAN)