MVF orders fumigation of LC’s 80 brgys
AFTER dengue claimed a single fatality in Laoag City, Mayor Michael V. Fariñas has instructed the City Health Office and the General Services Office to conduct fumigation operations in all of the 80 barangays in the city. Fariñas ordered the fumigation after he was appraised that the number of dengue victims in the city is rising and that it has already claimed one victim. As of August 14, the CHO reported that there had been 10 dengue victims with a single death. All others have been cured. According to Fariñas, the issues raised about fumigation—which has been called by critics of the mayor as not an effective way of dealing with the dengue virus—should be set aside for the meanwhile as he said an outbreak has to be prevented. “I’d rather sacrifice iti sangkabassit a kuwarta wenno dakkel man a kuwarta, pagsayaatan la ketdi rather than taking the risk [of] having an outbreak regarding dengue cases,” Fariñas said. Though admitting that fumigation is not the best solution in eradicating the dengue virus, he insisted that it is one of the preventive measures to check the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes. He has ordered the two offices to act immediately. Meanwhile, city health officer Dr. Renato Mateo reported that based on the CHO’s surveillance, together with that of the city epidemiologist, the larvae that were gathered for testing in stagnant waters found at the private school were the lone dengue fatality was studying proved positive for dengue-carrying mosquitoes, scientifically known as aedis aegypti. Mateo said he immediately recommended the fumigation at the said school at least once a week to eliminate the danger of dengue spread. The school head was also advised to clean their surroundings to avoid pooling of stagnant water in their area. CHO records also showed that there had been 27 dengue cases in the city at the same time last year compared to this year’s 10 cases as of August 14. No fatalities however were reported last year. Dominic B. dela Cruz
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