Drive vs dengue beefed up

MANILA, Philippines - In a bid to encourage greater community participation in the prevention of dengue, the Department of Health (DOH) recently re-launched its 4-o’clock habit in Batangas City.

The strategy designates 4 p.m. as the anti-dengue hour, encouraging people to search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites in their area and be updated of the current dengue situation of their community. 

The relaunch of the 4-o’clock habit was co-organized with Sanofi Pasteur. “The fight against dengue requires a strong commitment from all sectors of the society,” said Ching Santos, country manager of Sanofi Pasteur in the Philippines.

“We are very privileged to be a partner of the DOH in their public awareness campaign for the prevention of this disease,” Santos added.

Though there is a decrease in reported cases this year, dengue cases remain high in the country. According to the latest statistics from the DOH, there are 23,615 cases recorded as of March 30 compared to 23,672 last year. 

Recorded deaths for this year have reached 104, slightly lower than the 144 recorded deaths in the same period in 2012.

There is no specific treatment available for dengue fever yet. Sanofi Pasteur is currently conducting clinical trials for a candidate dengue vaccine. 

Large-scale phase III studies are ongoing in Latin America and in Asia, including the Philippines.  The vaccine company’s tetravalent dengue vaccine is the leading candidate dengue vaccine in development.

But until the availability of the vaccine and other treatments, the public is urged to remain vigilant against the disease. 

Simple measures like discarding stagnant pools of water in old or unused tires, flower pots and vases and covering buckets used for water storage could go a long way in controlling the prevalence of the disease.