City health: Two to three persons get dengue daily

CEBU, Philippines - Two to three persons in Cebu City are afflicted with the dreaded dengue everyday. While for every 10 dengue victims one will die, the latest City Health’s dengue report said.

Durinda Macasucol, the assistant chief of the City Epidemiology Statistics and Surveillance Unit, said that 92 dengue cases have been reported to their office from January 1 to February 7, 2009.

Although she said that the number is relatively lower compared to the same period last year, which had 193 cases and 10 deaths, Macasucol said the city officials and the public should not be lax in the fight against this virus.

Dengue killed 52 people, mostly children, in Cebu City last year.

During the first month this year there were already three children, from barangays Labangon, Lorega-San Miguel and Binaliw, who died days after they were brought to the hospital.

The 92 persons who had been afflicted with dengue within the first 38 days of 2009 came from 30 barangays of the city, mostly located in the urban area.

Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña advised city officials to focus their attention on measures to stop the spread of dengue in the city.

Osmeña, who has cancer on his urinary bladder, even described dengue as more serious than cancer because a dengue victim may die one day after being brought to the hospital.

City health personnel have scheduled a series of meetings in different barangays to call the attention of the residents for them to be active in dengue prevention.

Because the second dengue fatality this year came from barangay Lorega-San Miguel, the health personnel have scheduled a meeting in that barangay on February 20, and Duljo-Fatima on February 27. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP   (THE FREEMAN)