DOH holds ‘Iwas Dengue’ workshop in Camanava

The Department of Health (DOH), in an effort to increase the public’s awareness on the world’s most dangerous and lethal mosquito-born illness, held an anti-dengue seminar for high school students in the northern part of Metro Manila over the weekened.

The "Iwas Dengue" workshop, held at the Caloocan City High School function hall, had Dr. Enrique Tayag, chief of DOH’s National Epidemiology Center, as main lecturer.

Tayag said dengue is a viral disease carried by day-biting female mosquitoes, known as Aedes Aegypti. The mosquitoes, Tayag said, become infected when they bite an infected human and transmit it to other persons.

Dengue is also known as break-bone fever as it causes severe joint and muscle pain. It is, however, not contagious.

Its common symptoms are high fever, severe headaches, backache, eye pain, joint pain, nausea and vomiting, and rashes.

Most of it result in mild illness but some progress to a complication resulting in hemorrhagic fever and could be fatal if not immediately treated.

The fever is characterized by bleeding of the nose, mouth and gums. It could also cause severe drop in blood pressure.

Tayag said there is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Bed rest, drinking lots of fluid and taking medicine to reduce fever is recommended.

He said the Philippines remains a "dengue hotspot" in Asia-Pacific due to its tropical environment.

Since January this year, at least 22,000 dengue cases have been recorded. The worst, however, was in 1998 when 36,000 cases were recorded.

Among the simple measures recommended to prevent dengue include installing screens on windows and doors, and eliminating breeding places of mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes breed on stagnant water, rain water in particular.

SC Johnson Philippines, maker of Baygon and Off!, an insect repellant sponsored the workshop.