Amid the surge in dengue cases in the country, administration senatorial bet Benhur Abalos pointed to an existing and effective anti-mosquito contraption from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
'Laking bagay': Abalos says DOST's mosquito trap can help fight dengue
At a glance
(MANILA BULLETIN)
Amid the surge in dengue cases in the country, administration senatorial bet Benhur Abalos pointed to an existing and effective anti-mosquito contraption from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidate identified this as the Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap, or simply the OL trap.
"Noong mayor ako ng Mandaluyong, we coordinated to DOST may teknolohiya ‘yan na kung saan ang isang dengue mosquito nag-iitlog ‘yong nanay niyan, ang kumakagat d’yan ‘yong babae," Abalos recalled in a recent press conference on the campaign trail.
(When I was mayor of Mandaluyong, we coordinated to DOST and there's a technology wherein a dengue mosquito lays an egg, the mother, it’s the female that bites us.)
"So ang importante d’yan mangitlog siya mayroong chemical na nilalagay at ilalagay mo sa maliit na lata ito tapos may stick (So the important thing is, it lays an egg in the trap and there's a chemical that you place inside a small can with a stick)," he explained.
The mosquito eventually dies in the OL trap, Abalos said.
"Ginawa namin ‘yon sa Mandaluyong noong araw at ang laking bagay medyo na-control namin ng konti (We did that in Mandaluyong back in the day and it was a big help, we controlled the mosquito population a bit)," he shared.
As of Feb. 15, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 43,732 cases of dengue in the country this year.
The fatality rate is the highest in Central Luzon, where in Bulacan, a reported seven have died.
Abalos, a former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary, said the public must also maintain cleanliness in their surroundings in order to reduce the threat of dengue.
He said that esteros and waterways must be cleared of stagnant water and items where mosquitoes can breed andm multiply.
"[An] ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure," Abalos said.