Caloocan dengue cases drop by 15 percent

MANILA, Philippines - The number of dengue cases reported in Caloocan City during the last six months decreased by 15 percent compared to the same period last year, an official said yesterday.

City health officer Dr. Raquel So-Sayo said that from Jan. 1 to June 11, her department was able to record 834 cases, a figure that is 15 percent lower compared to 983 cases recorded in the first six months of 2011.

She said that although Caloocan City ranks third in the Department of Health’s list of having the most number of dengue cases in Metro Manila, it only posted 0.5 percent case fatality rate.

This year the city has only four deaths from the mosquito-borne illness as compared to seven fatalities last year, Sayo said.

Mayor Enrico Echiverri attributed the decrease in the illness from the city government’s anti-dengue campaigns, which include the distribution of mosquito nets laced with insect repellant chemicals to villages, schools, and daycare centers.

He asked residents to help curb the spread of the disease by emptying stagnant water from trashcans, flowerpots and old tires to help eradicate breeding grounds of mosquitoes.

He also advised residents to use lotions or sprays that ward off mosquitoes and to immediately seek medical help once they suffer from symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, muscle pain, swollen glands, and skin rashes.