GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Health personnel here urged residents not to be complacent about the deadly dengue fever as they recorded early this week the fourth fatality this year due to the viral disease.
Dr. Lalaine Calonzo, assistant head of the City Health Office, said on Wednesday the latest victim was a six-year-old boy from Purok Diamond Valley in Barangay Tambler.
She said the boy, whose identity was withheld on the family's request, succumbed last Monday to "cardio pulmonary arrest secondary to dengue hemorrhagic shock."
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 4, she said the reported dengue cases in the city's 26 barangays already reached a total of 1,110, with four deaths.
Calonzo said the figure is 72 percent higher when compared to the 644 cases recorded in the same period last year by the CHO's epidemiology and surveillance unit.
"We're still under national dengue epidemic so it's really important for everyone to remain alert and continue with the observance of the prevention measures," she said in an interview with reporters.
The official reiterated the need for the regular cleanup activities in the community and households.
She said these are necessary as the sporadic rains the past weeks could have provided new breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Calonzo said it was important for stakeholders to continually observe the 4-S strategy against dengue which stands for "search and destroy mosquito breeding places, secure self-protection, seek early consultation and support fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas where an increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an outbreak."
Mayor Ronnel Rivera said he directed the CHO to mobilize more barangay health workers to monitor and help set interventions against dengue cases in the communities.
"We're focusing right now on proper awareness and the regular massive cleanup activities," he said.
He advised residents to immediately seek assistance from the rural health units or the city hospital at the first instance of fever.
The city government declared a state of calamity last month due to the rising dengue cases.
It released an initial PHP7 million for the purchase of medicines and other necessary supplies, among them the NS1 dengue test kits. (PNA)
