Clean up the esteros to stop dengue crisis

Inquirer.net's report on dengue dated August 16

, 2010 says the number of reported cases for this year's first 7 months is 48% higher than last year's first 7 months. In GMA7's 24 Oras August 19 report, there have already been more than 48,000 reported cases to date, a number which is 65% higher than the number of recorded cases from January to August 2009. Clearly the total of dengue cases in the Philippines as of mid-August 2010 was a number larger than for the same period of last year, but if both reports are correct, then the 17% rise in barely three weeks is quite alarming and should be immediately addressed.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), the sharp increase in dengue cases is attributed to frequent intermittent rain that creates more places for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Anything with a shape that could hold a small amount of water, if rained upon, could serve as nursery for mosquito eggs until such time they turn into mosquito larvae or kiti-kiti that don't take long to mature into fully grown dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Mosquito eggs and larvae have better chances of survival on stagnant water, so health officials should bear in mind that the largest pools of stagnated water are the esteros those canals that are tributaries that drain into the Pasig River. Waste water's steady flow is hindered by garbage and pollutants thrown into it, so indiscriminate disposal of trash that finds its way into the esteros tend to exacerbate the dengue problem in communities that aren't kept clean. This is how periods of La Nia and the typhoon months spread disease; the rainy season and storms like Ondoy give mosquitoes more options for places to reproduce.

The DOH would be best advised to consider working with other departments and sectors undertaking the cleanup of the esteros for its own health agena, and in doing so the rehabilitation of Pasig River might actually be fast-tracked. Once this collaboration is undertaken the number of reports of dengue cases should have a dramatic drop, but the cleanliness achieved must be sustained in a way that all tributaries headed for Pasig River are made unsuitable for mosquito breeding. That would likely involve the removal of not only the informal settlers who contribute to the rubbish that accumulate along the canals but also the businesses with operational activities that pollute the river.

Clean up the esteros to stop dengue crisis

By: pasigriveravenger

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