Guiuan Intensifies Dengue Drive After 16 Cases Recorded

TACLOBAN CITY – The municipal government of Guiuan, Eastern Samar has ordered an intensified environmental sanitation campaign after the town recorded 16 confirmed dengue cases from January to the second week of July, with more than half of the infections reported in a single village. Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan on Thursday, July 16, issued Executive Order No. 07-94-2026, directing all 60 barangays to immediately mobilize and strengthen clean-up and dengue prevention activities to curb the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. READ: DOH logs over 7,400 dengue cases in January, down 71% from last year The order was issued after an inspection report submitted by the Municipal Health Office (MHO) on July 15 showed that nine of the 16 confirmed dengue cases were recorded in Barangay Salug, making it the municipality’s most affected village. The report also identified numerous mosquito breeding sites across the town, including stagnant water, clogged canals, overgrown vegetation, and improperly managed solid waste, prompting local officials to intensify preventive measures. Under the executive order, all barangays have been directed to conduct weekly clean-up drives, remove water-holding containers that could serve as mosquito breeding sites, unclog drainage canals and waterways, eliminate stagnant water in public places and residential areas, trim overgrown vegetation, and strengthen solid waste management in accordance with Republic Act No. 9003. Barangays were also instructed to coordinate with the Municipal Health Office in conducting information and education campaigns on dengue prevention, mobilize barangay health workers and community volunteers for sanitation activities, and assist health personnel during larval surveys, misting, spraying, and other vector-control operations. Households are likewise encouraged to undertake weekly search-and-destroy activities against mosquito breeding sites, properly dispose of household waste, maintain clean surroundings, and cooperate with health authorities during inspections and vector-control interventions. To ensure compliance, all village chiefs have been ordered to submit weekly accomplishment reports, including photographs and summaries of activities undertaken, until the Municipal Health Office determines that the intensified sanitation campaign may be scaled down. /jpv