The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) through its local component society, the Quezon City Medical Society (QCMS), launched yesterday its OPLAN DENGUE ALERT campaign starting with the intermediate students of the Congressman Rey Calalay Memorial Elementary School in San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City.
“Quezon City is one of the Department of Health (DOH) dengue declared hotspot in Metro Manila and we would like to rally the people of this city beginning with its most vulnerable population, the school children, to be aware and prepared against this deadly dengue infection ” according to QCMS President Dr. Rialisa Henson.
“Dengue can be prevented and we would like to educate our people, starting with the children, on how this could be done. Our medical doctors will be going from school to school to literally teach elementary students and also their teachers on the most effective way to evade this dreaded infection” Henson added.
“Besides teaching these young students the crucial need to maintain a clean environment in order to eliminate potential breeding grounds of mosquitoes we also train them on how to make effective home-made mosquito traps” said QCMS Director Dr. Michael Marasigan.
“As a matter of fact we are also organizing, among our students, Brigada Bulilit Health Clubs to encourage our youth to propagate, among others, the anti-dengue awareness and preparedness mentality to other children and even to their parents at home. Some of the practices that the bulilit club members are encourage to do is to advocate for the Four -O -Clock habit. This simply means that at four in the afternoon everyday they should start cleaning their surroundings and check for possible breeding grounds of mosquitoes in their area” Marisigan finally said.
“As the popular saying goes, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. We are therefore calling on everybody, starting with our school children, to do their share in preventing this life threatening infection from spreading. This simply can start with the proper understanding of what this disease we call dengue is all about” Henson finally said. Dr. Mike Aragon, Chairman, Media Affairs, Philippine Medical Association (PMA)
