Red Cross on alert for dengue cases

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Red Cross is on alert for the possible outbreak of dengue and other typhoon-related diseases.

PNRC secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said all Red Cross chapters nationwide are currently undertaking appropriate measures to prevent the spread of dengue and other killer diseases.

“With the onset of the rainy season, all Red Cross chapters have been reminded to undertake measures to prevent the spread of dengue and to be ready in case of an outbreak,” Pang said.

In a memorandum issued earlier, the Red Cross directed all its Community Health and Nursing Services (CHNS) staff to devise a community-based dengue prevention program and improve dengue awareness among communities.

The programs include identifying priority areas, organizing community health volunteers (CHVs), mobilizing CHVs to conduct cleanup drives to destroy mosquito-breeding sites in the community and monitoring dengue occurrences in the different barangays.

Dengue is an acute infectious disease manifested initially with fever and acquired through bite of Aedes aegypti, a day-biting mosquito.