Now the best time to fight dengue mosquitoes — DOST

The ongoing dry season may be uncomfortably hot, but it may also be the best time to eliminate the breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, according to a study by the Department of Science and Technology.

Dr. Frances Edillo of the University of San Carlos cited a DOST- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development study that said now is the time to prevent a potential dengue epidemic.

Edillo, who led the DOSTPCHRD study in Cebu City, said transovarial transmission of the dengue virus - or the transmission of a virus from the mother mosquito to its offspring - showed April " registered the highest minimum infection rate in the mosquito samples," the DOST said.

If the larvae and pupae infected with dengue virus survive and become mosquitoes in the rainy season, Edillo said " these mosquitoes could set off an epidemic among humans via horizontal transmission."

She also noted Cebu City has a pattern where a dry season with a low number of dengue cases is followed by a rainy season with a high number of dengue cases.

The DOST said the study is limited to Aedes aegypti, the common carrier of the dengue virus in the Philippines.

In the study, researchers collected larvae and pupae from house and field premises every month in four random sites in Cebu City, from November 2011 to July 2012.