The Best Time to Fight Dengue
Dengue Infection is very common in Tropical Countries like the Philippines. Its occurrence is all year round although it peaks during the rainy season . Why? Because during rainy days, all receptacles/
containers found outside of our homes could be filled with rain water that could serve as breeding sites for the Aedes
mosquitoes. The higher the density of Aedes mosquitoes, the higher the risk of dengue virus transmission in the community. Many believed that "our fight against dengue should be done during the rainy days". Do you agree? Many medical coordinators of dengue prevention and control program prepare for the fight after the advent of the rainy season. As for me, I strongly believed that our FIGHT AGAINST DENGUE SHOULD BE DURING SUMMER TIME. It is during this time that the potential sources of infection are few (dengue cases), density of Aedes mosquitoes is not high and dengue transmission is low . How can one manage the fight when the presence of Aedes is just everywhere and many people are already getting sick. Preventing an impending or ongoing outbreak in different places could be a real dilemma.
Now, how do we start the fight against dengue? We should bear in mind that because it is summer time, we have very limited breeding sites. The " potential breeding sites" of these Aedes mosquitoes are only those containers/ receptacles with direct access to water. These are our " uncovered " water storage containers (drums or pails) inside our toilets or kitchens, jars or glass pitchers filled with drinking water and aquariums. All these should be properly cleaned by scrubbing the sidewalls of the containers with soap and water at least twice a week. Then cover the containers properly to prevent Aedes mosquitoes from laying their eggs on the sidewalls. Aquariums should be also covered with a fine net on top. If you are fond of displaying plant or flower vases filled with water inside your home or inside the classroom in school, removing them will surely spare you of a potential breeding site. Always remember to cover all water containers in and out of your house at all times.
After covering all water containers, search your surroundings of any possible breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes such as empty bottles, cans, plastic containers, old tires and plants with large leaves that could hold water for a few days like Bromeliads, palm trees, etc. Remove all these from your surroundings. Inspect your roof gutters and downspouts to make sure that these are not clogged. Take time to clean and scrub your roof gutters to remove dessicated eggs waiting for rain water to hatch them. These will be a good preparation for the coming rainy days.
When rainy season starts, you have already removed a great number of potential Aedes breeding sites in your community. Sustained community efforts against dngue will definitely make you dengue-free.