ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanews/01 June) – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will distribute Ovicidal/Larvicidal Traps (OL-Traps) in selected schools here in the region to help in the fight against dengue.
DOST Regional Director Brenda Nazareth-Manzano said the Department of Health (DOH) through the City and Municipal Health Offices will identify the priority schools for distribution of OL-Traps based on the number of dengue cases in the region.
The DOST will provide the OL Trap kits, six-month supply of OL trap pellets and paddles to the school-recipients but she did not say how many schools will be benefited.
Manzano said two OL-trap kits will be placed in each classroom of the selected public elementary and high schools through the DepEd regional office. Deployment, training, and monitoring of OL Trap index will also be conducted.
The DOST OL-Trap System Nationwide Roll-out is a project strengthened by the collaborative efforts of the DOST, DOH, DepEd, and Department of Interior Local Government (DILG), Manzano said.
She said the undertaking is covered by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered into by the concerned agencies under ABKD (Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue) which was signed in August last year to jointly undertake this effort to address dengue prevention.
Records at the DOH Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) showed a total of 1,463 dengue cases registered from January 1 to May 26 this year.
Maxell Bermas, a RESU nurse, said the city registered the highest number of dengue cases at 1,075 followed by Zamboanga del Norte with 221, Zamboanga del Sur with 91, Zamboanga Sibugay with 58; and Isabela City with 18.
This year’s number of cases in the region is 160 per cent higher than last year’s
Manzano said the developed OL trap system is a device used to control the population of Aedes mosquito, the carrier of dengue virus.
Manzano said the mosquito trap offers a simple, cheap, and efficient tool for surveillance and control of the dengue-causing mosquitoes.
The OL trap can monitor and detect the presence of Aedes aegypti mosquito and serves an early warning to pre-empt any impending dengue outbreak, she said.
Through OL trap system project, the DOST and the other concerned government agencies hope to reduce the number of dengue cases nationwide. (MindaNews)