SAYING that only prevention can cure dengue, Dr. Ophelia Rivera, Dagupan City health officer, recommended not only the adoption of 4S and the 4 o’clock habit but also the cultivation of mosquito repellant plants in backyards and gardens.

Rivera told the hearing in the Sangguniang Panlungsod presided by Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo and joined by Councilor Cisco Jay Flores on August 15, that these plants should be planted to drive away disease-causing mosquitoes, including the dengue-causing mosquitoes.

Dr. Rivera reports to the Sangguniang Panlungsod. (Punchphoto by Butch Uka)

The hearing discussed the draft ordinance proposed by Tamayo obligating parents to require their children to wear jogger pants and long socks to school during the nationwide dengue alert declared by the Department of Health for them to be protected from dengue.

Tamayo said he will incorporate Rivera’s suggestion in his draft ordinance requiring all households in Dagupan to plant mosquito repellant plants identified by Dr. Rivera.

These include Citronella, Eucalyptus, Lemon Balm, Lavender, Nymphs, Basil and Rosemary.

The pungent smell of these plants alone will turn away mosquitoes and other insects, Rivera said.

In the same committee hearing, Rivera revealed that dengue cases registered in Dagupan from January to middle of August this year only reached 106 with no death whatsoever, lower by 75 percent the dengue statistics for the same period last year.

The City Health Office listed five barangays under the dengue watchlist due to their high incidence of dengue: Bonuan  Gueset, Caranglaan, Bonuan Binloc, Calmay and Pantal.

Although the DOH declared a nationwide dengue epidemic, Rivera assured that Dagupan is still below the dengue threshold. (Leonardo Micua)

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