Girl, 10, dies of dengue

CEBU, Philippines – A 10-year-old girl from barangay Lorega-San Miguel became the latest casualty of dengue in Cebu City after she died two days after she was brought to a government hospital last week.

Durinda Macasocol, assistant head of the City Epidemiology Statistics and Surveillance of the Cebu City health department, said the child was brought to Cebu City Medical Center last May 7, but died two days later.

The death of said child brings to two the number of dengue-related casualties in barangay Lorega-San Miguel since January.

There are already eight dengue-related deaths recorded by the City Epidemiology Statistics and Surveillance Unit in Cebu City for this year.

Aside from the two casualties in Lorega-San Miguel, there were two other casualties reported in Labangon and one each in barangay Guadalupe, Camputhaw, Binaliw and Sudlon II.

Macasocol’s report to the Cebu City Council last Wednesday said that the latest casualty of dengue came from barangay Zapatera, but she said it was later established that the victim stayed at Sikatuna St. which is still part of Lorega-San Miguel.

But she said although the number of casualties has already reached eight, this is still very low compared to 24 deaths during the same period last year.

“Ubos ra hinoon kaayo ang gidaghanon sa mga patay karong tuiga apan mas labing maayo g’yod unta nga wala na lang unta’y mamatay,” Macasocol said, as she announced that the dengue cases this year had already reached to 282, compared to the 516 last year.

Since June is considered by the health officials as dengue awareness month, City Hall has already lined up several projects, mostly information campaigns, to give the public knowledge on how to combat the dengue.

Most of the victims are males aged from six to 51, and the barangays that have the highest number of cases are Camputhaw, Labangon, Tisa, Guadalupe, Carreta and Lorega-San Miguel.

The public is asked to quickly bring patients to the nearest hospital or health centers if they experience severe fever and they should clean up their surroundings and destroy possible breeding sites of the dengue-carrying aedes aegypti mosquito. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)