Containing dengue fever Philippine community puts bounty on mosquitoes
A suburb of the Philippine capital Manila has put a bounty on mosquitoes - dead or alive. The municipal council of Addition Hills wants to curb the spread of the dangerous dengue fever.
21.02.2025, 06:30
21.02.2025, 06:42
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A small town in the Philippines is offering citizens one peso for every five mosquitoes or larvae they submit to combat dengue fever.
- The "May Piso sa Mosquito" campaign aims to raise awareness of disease control, while over 28,000 dengue cases have already been recorded nationwide.
- However, experts warn of a possible "cobra effect" where unscrupulous individuals could breed mosquitoes to profit from the reward.
For every five mosquitoes or mosquito larvae submitted, citizens are paid one Philippine peso (0.016 euros) - which can be worthwhile in the largely poor country.
On the Facebook page of the small town with around 100,000 inhabitants, it was reported that one resident had brought in 45 larvae. The newspaper "Daily Tribune" showed a video of the drop-off station, including an electric mosquito exterminator, on platform X.
The viral disease, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, has been on the rise in the Southeast Asian island state since the beginning of the year. In Addition Hills alone, 44 dengue cases have been recorded since January, with two deaths.
Nationwide, more than 28,000 cases and 21 deaths had been recorded by February 1, according to the Ministry of Health. The authorities are particularly concerned because the risk of transmission is actually highest during the rainy season - i.e. between May and November.
Warning of the "cobra effect"
"The citizens are having fun collecting the mosquitoes and larvae," Carmelita Gonzales, an employee of the city administration, told the German Press Agency. But more importantly, she said, it raises awareness of the need to keep their surroundings clean in order to combat the disease. The campaign "May Piso sa Mosquito" (There are pesos in mosquitoes) is to be carried out for as long as there are dengue cases.
However, local media warned that there could be a cobra effect. This refers to the phenomenon whereby a measure that is supposed to solve a problem makes it worse. "Instead of hunting mosquitoes and their larvae and destroying their habitat, some unscrupulous people could breed them for a large sum of money," wrote the Inquirer newspaper.
Dengue fever: What are the symptoms?
Dengue fever - sometimes called "breakbone disease" because of the pain - is widespread in the tropics and subtropics. However, the course of the disease is often mild and not every infected person falls ill. Symptoms include a sudden, high fever, chills, pain throughout the body and a headache that feels like it is behind the eyes. There may also be extensive red skin rashes.
