DOH encourages ‘4 O’Clock Habit’ to drive down risk of dengue

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday encouraged neighborhoods to get into the "4 O'Clock Habit" to protect their families from dengue this rainy season.

An annual campaign by the DOH, the 4 O'Clock Habit is a strategy that mobilizes communities to take time out to "search and destroy possible mosquito-breeding places" at 4 p.m. every day.

Cleaning before evening is key to reducing the risk of dengue, as mosquitos carrying the disease are most active at dusk.

Barangay Wawa in Taguig City is proving that the 4 O'Clock Habit is effective, having recorded the second lowest number of dengue cases in the city since it began the campaign last year.

"Nag-start kami ng January up to December 'yan. Kailangan talaga naming bumaba yung cases eh. Kaya mula nung ginawa namin ng all-year round, mababa ang cases namin," Rose Panganiban, a coordinator in Brgy. Wawa, explained on Balitanghali.

Apart from cleaning mosquito breeding sites and declogging sewer lines, homeowners may also have their houses and nearby sewers fogged to clear the area of disease-carrying bugs.

"Pagka nag-spray kami sa loob ng bahay kailangan yung walang tao sa loob. At tsaka yung pagkain, tatakpan. Thirty minutes bago pumasok ulit sa loob ng bahay," sanitation officer Wilson Natividad said

The DOH encouraged vigilance against mosquitoes even before the onset of the rainy season, as it recorded 75,117 and 92,807 cases of dengue in 2014 and 2015 from January to September.

Mortality rates for dengue, however, dropped from 316 in 2014 to 269 in 2015.

Dengue symptoms

"Yung mga signs and symptoms [ng dengue] ay yung mataas na lagnat na dalawa o tatlong araw pataas," said Medical Dengue Coordinator Dr. Gigi Monsod.

"Tapos meron siyang pananakit ng katawan, mga kasukasuan. And then meron rin siyang periorbital pain or yung sa may mata. Tapos pwede ring bumaba ang kanyang platelet count, tapos pwede rin yung iba nagsusuka, sumasakit ang tiyan."

People who are believed to be sick with dengue should be brought to the hospital or health center, Monsod added. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News