Caloocan steps up anti-dengue drive

MANILA, Philippines - Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri ordered yesterday an intensified campaign against dengue fever, citing Department of Health (DOH) data showing that the incidence of dengue rises every summer since mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus find it easy to multiply during this time.

Echiverri instructed the city’s Environment Sanitation Services to remind residents to always keep their surroundings clean.

Aside from this, the local government said it would carry on with its “misting” campaign. Eliminating dengue-carrying mosquitoes is easier with this new method, Councilor Ricojudge Echiverri said. Workers from the city health department will test the new method instead of “fogging,” which is being discouraged by the DOH because it kills only adult mosquitoes. Misting involves spraying pesticides in a fine mist to kill mosquitoes and other insects, and pesticides could be sprayed directly onto breeding sites to kill larvae.