UNDP helps Ormoc City fight dengue

CEBU, Philippines - The number of dengue cases in Ormoc City has increased over the last two weeks, prompting the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to come for assistance in combating the mosquito-borne disease.

The UNDP has been hiring 50 people per barangay where high incidence of dengue was reported. They will help in cleaning up the debris left behind by typhoon Yolanda that became breeding grounds of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

The UNDP had also committed to hire at least six dump trucks to haul the debris for proper disposal.

More than a hundred cases were reported already, as of Jan. 27, up from 84 cases last Jan. 20, and 34 cases last Jan. 16, according to Councilor Mario Rodriguez, chairman of the committee on health.

Rodriguez, also a physician by profession, however told the City Council that the dengue type in Ormoc “is not virulent and there was no mortality.”

Dengue has four known strains, one of which is the hemorrhagic kind which is debilitating and could be fatal. However, Rodriguez said the matter was still a cause of concern. “It is a health concern,” he said.

Nonetheless, Dr. Rodriguez told co-councilors during the pre-session caucus, “this is a cause of concern. It is a health concern.”

The four barangays with the most number of dengue cases were Cogon, Linao, Bagong-buhay and Tambulilid—the city’s most populous barangays occupied by informal settlers and shanty communities. –(FREEMAN)