ANTI-DENGUE DRIVE. Employees and residents of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga participate in the ‘Sabayang 4 o’clock Habit Para Deng-Get Out’, a program of the Department of Health (DOH) to combat dengue. It is an activity which focuses on the search and destroy of mosquito-breeding sites. (File photo courtesy of the City Government of San Fernando)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- Dengue cases in Pampanga dropped by 44 percent in the first seven months of this year compared to the same period in 2018 amid the surge of the viral disease in other parts of the country.
Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Marcelo Jaochico said the decline in dengue cases can be attributed to the proactive efforts of the provincial government in preventing and managing dengue-related incidents in the province.
“This was also achieved through the extensive participation and coordination of the local government units (LGUs) concerned and initiative of the governor in intensifying the campaign against dengue even before the rainy season started,” Jaochico said.
It can be recalled that former governor, now Vice Governor Lilia Pineda, and incumbent Governor Dennis Pineda ordered local government executives to be vigilant and step up their campaign against dengue.
Likewise, interventions by Barangay Dengue Task Force, Nanay Community Workers, rural health workers, municipal health workers and midwives were also strengthened to provide surveillance and response to dengue cases and other public health diseases especially to those who live in far-flung areas.
Data from the Provincial Health Office showed that a total of 1,405 dengue cases were reported by the different disease-reporting units in the province as of August 3.
This is 44 percent lower than the recorded 2,489 dengue cases from January 2018 to August 2018.
Out of the 1,405 cases this year, only two deaths were recorded, which is 86 percent lower than the 14 deaths during the same period last year with 14 deaths.
At present, at least 25 barangays are considered as dengue hotspots areas while seven have a clustering of cases.
Mabalacat City has the most number of dengue cases with 230 or 16 percent of the total cases in the province, followed by San Fernando City with 165 cases.
“We are currently monitoring the barangays as per the instruction of our Governor. We already asked the barangay task forces to conduct mist blowing or spray blowing to prevent the spread of mosquitoes in the residential areas,” Joachico said.
The provincial government, through its health office, encourages authorities and citizens alike to participate in the community-based dengue campaigns.
“We have our regular search and destroy operations and clean up drives in the communities led by our dengue task force to eliminate breeding grounds of mosquitos, which transmit the disease,” Joachico added.
Meanwhile, the local government units in this province have joined the nationwide “Sabayang 4 o’clock Habit para Deng-Get Out,” an activity which focuses on “search and destroy of mosquito breeding sites.”
Juliana Reyes, assistant regional director of Department of Health-3, urged everyone to continuously practice the DOH’s advisory to suppress dengue in the community.
Regional Entomologist Jeffrey de Guzman, meanwhile, said that fogging and spraying should only be conducted in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an outbreak. (PNA)
