5 Kidapawan City villages placed under dengue watch

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – Five villages in this city were placed under tight watch by health authorities following the deaths of five children from dengue from January to May this year.

Ted Calica, city assistant health secretary, said they recorded 277 dengue cases during this period.

Calica said they have been monitoring Barangays Poblacion, Singao, Kalasuyan and Lanao, which accounts for most dengue cases.

This city has the highest recorded dengue incidence in the past five months, according to records obtained from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).

Next to Kidapawan City is the municipality of Mlang, where 245 people, mostly children, contracted dengue; followed by Kabacan and Midsayap, both in the first district of North Cotabato, with 155 and 100 cases, respectively.

Duvia Tabugo, chief of North Cotabato IPHO, said they recorded 1,302 dengue cases in the province the past five months.

Tabugo and Calica said their agencies are currently engaged in a massive information campaign to educate villagers on how to prevent the spread of the dengue virus.