DOST hoists online dengue alert

BEFORE the onset of the rainy season, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) intensifies its dengue preventive measures by providing online information on dengue cases per community to serve as alert mechanism to concerned government offices and personnel.

In the pipeline is a dengue alert website that will enable public health practitioners to check out high-risk areas for dengue outbreaks and come up with early intervention measures. Developed by DOST through its sectoral council, the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), the site is technically a “vector surveillance” tool containing data on population density and other information on Aedesaegypti mosquito which is the vector for dengue, or the organism that transmits the dengue virus to humans.

The population of the vector, or the Aedes mosquito, is reflected in the Ovicidal-Larvicidal(OL) Trap Index Monitoring Map that shows the weekly surveillance results of communities installed with the OL Trap.

The DOST-developed (OL) trap is a simple, affordable, and efficient tool for controlling mosquito population. An OL trap kit consists of a black container, a lawanit paddle where mosquitoes lay their eggs, and a pack of pellets used to make a solution that kills the eggs and larva of mosquitoes.

Reports from dengue coordinators in schools installed with the OL trap are reflected in the monitoring map, which will then show areas where Aedes mosquitos settle, including the density of the mosquito population.

Through the weekly updates from the communities, public health practitioners can check out trends and recommend actions to be taken by policy makers and community leaders. This function puts the country one step ahead of the dengue menace, the peak season of which occurs during the rainy months.