Dr. Arvin Alejandro, Sarangani health officer (File photo)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Health authorities in Sarangani alerted their residents and communities against the possible increase in dengue cases due to the onset of the rainy season.
Dr. Arvin Alejandro, Sarangani health officer, said Tuesday they are closely monitoring various areas in the province’s seven municipalities to contain the emergence and spread of the deadly disease.
Alejandro said they are currently reinforcing the preventive measures being implemented by the rural health units and barangays as they continue to address the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
He said they already recorded as of June 11 some 427 confirmed cases of dengue, with three related deaths, about 25 percent lower than the 557 cases recorded in the same period last year.
He attributed the decrease to the limited movements by residents due to the Covid-19 community quarantine measures.
“One indication is the fact that no children are in schools. So, there is no high transmission also,” he said in a report.
Alejandro said the local government has distributed some 2,000 sachets of larvicidal or non-insecticidal solution, which is used to treat mosquito nets to help control the population of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
He urged residents to follow the preventive measures against dengue set by the Department of Health under the Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue or ABKD campaign in the barangays.
The intervention includes the conduct of regular community cleanup drives, and search and destroy activities targeting possible mosquito breeding sites.
Citing previous cases, he said mosquito-breeding places were also found inside households.
Alejandro said residents should be vigilant with both the dengue threat and the Covid-19 situation.
He added that testing is currently done in the province for both diseases, through the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method for Covid-19 and rapid screening for dengue. (PNA)
