DOST to provide mosquito traps for public schools

With the rainy season expected to trigger a rise in dengue, the Department of Science and Technology is providing mosquito traps to public school classrooms nationwide. DOST Secretary Mario Montejo vowed to make the ovicidal-larvicidal (OL) trap available to all public school classrooms in the country by August this year. “An OL trap for every classroom will not only help curb the number of dengue cases but will also increase awareness on the threat of dengue and on the use of OL trap as one of the potent solutions to address dengue, especially among schoolchildren," Montejo said in a news release posted on the government portal. The DOST described the OL trap as a “simple, low-technology tool" that attracts female mosquitoes to lay their eggs on the soaked strip of lawanit wood inside the container. It said the black color of the container and the use of organic material in the trap pellets serve as strong attractants to mosquitoes. Making such traps available to public schools should further reduce the number of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in the country, the DOST said. Earlier, the DOST signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Health to fight dengue through the national rollout of the trap. Under the MOA, the DOST will produce the OL trap while the DOH and local government units will distribute and identify household beneficiaries. The DOST said the OL trap is one of the multipronged government efforts to fight dengue in the country. Citing experts, the DOST said the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus, is highly attracted to sweat-soaked skin, making children easy targets. The DOST also cited on laboratory and field tests showing the OL trap it developed has been effective in bringing down the number of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in the country. It said recent test results in Samar and Leyte show the OL trap attracted more mosquitoes than any other container. — TJD, GMA News