THE Iloilo City Health Office (CHO) urges residents to clean their surroundings, destroy mosquito breeding places, and to safeguard everyone's well-being to curb the rising dengue cases here. The CHO reported a total of 326 dengue cases and three deaths from January to July 4, 2023, an increase of 54 percent compared to cases during the same period in 2022. Dengue patients are mostly children from 1 to 10 years old. Clusters are seen in the villages of Lanit, Camalig, and Tabuc Suba in Jaro district; Sto. Niño Norte, Calaparan, and Santa Filomena in Arevalo; and Calumpang, Molo. 'City Health continues to conduct dengue monitoring, misting operations, and distribution of larvicides to barangay (villages) to control the spread of dengue,' CHO medical officer Roland Jay Fortuna said. 'We encourage the people to cooperate in keeping their surroundings clean regularly, both inside and outside of their homes, and not to be complacent but to conduct intensified anti-dengue campaigns through massive cleanup operations in their respective barangay to get rid of breeding places for mosquitoes,' he added. The CHO stressed that cleanup is urgent and reiterated the 5S Strategy — Searching and destroying breeding places; Securing self-protection such as using mosquito repellants; Seeking early consultation when experiencing symptoms; Supporting fogging or spraying to prevent an impending outbreak; and Sustain hydration.