CLEANLINESS. A water container filled with rain water, where mosquito larvae thrive, in Sibalom, Antique. Irene Duldoco, Antique Integrated Provincial Health Office, said in an interview Friday (Aug. 18, 2023) that the drastic decrease in dengue cases this year is due to people cleaning their surroundings. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The particular attention Antiqueños give to cleaning their surroundings helped drastically reduce dengue cases in the province.
Irene Duldoco, Antique Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) information officer, said the province recorded 352 cases and no deaths from Jan. 1 to Aug. 5 this year, compared with the 2,175 incidents with eight deaths during the same period in 2022.
“The people, learning from their experience in 2022, are now keen in observing the 4S strategy,” she said in an interview on Friday.
The IPHO continues to advocate for the 4S strategy -- Search and destroy mosquito breeding places; Self-protection measures like wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; Seeking early consultation; and Support to fogging/spraying.
She said people frequently clean their surroundings to kill potential mosquito breeding places.
“With the frequent rain in the province, the water containers, old tires and other possible mosquito breeding places have to be checked to get rid of the larvae that could cause dengue,” Duldoco said.
The municipality of Sibalom, among the top five towns with high incidence in the province, has only 52 cases compared with 375 last year.
Meanwhile, the information officer said Antique has 39 cases of leptospirosis, including two deaths, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 5.
The fatalities were males from San Jose de Buenavista town, aged 46 and 28 who died on Jan. 8 and May 27, respectively.
The public is urged to avoid treading contaminated floodwater that can cause leptospirosis.
“Public are advised to go the rural health units for consultation and prophylaxis if they trod on the flood,” Duldoco said. (PNA)
