Cebuanos warned against dengue

CEBU, Philippines - As rainy season is already felt in the country, the Provincial Health Office has warned the public against dengue and urged them to take precautionary measures.

PHO emergency medical technician Wilfredo Salgado Jr. said reports on dengue cases have started to surface this wet season. He pointed out that stagnant rainwater can serve as breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti).

The office has recorded three suspected dengue cases and a dengue mortality in Minglanilla town.  A week ago, nine-year-old Kyle Raven España of Barangay Tungkil in the same town succumbed to dengue fever.

Salgado added anti-dengue misting operations were conducted a week after at Tungkil, including elementary and high school buildings in the barangay where a wide breeding ground of mosquitoes was found.

“Ang luyo sa high school building, daghang tanom, lim-aw kaayo. Kung tan-awon ninyo, murag usa ka milyon ang lamok didto,” he said.

The school principals were advised to coordinate with the local government unit for further preventive measures.

In March, the town of Minglanilla was listed as among the four towns with highest number of dengue cases in Central Visayas, data from Regional Epidemiology  and Surveillance Unit showed.

Last month, as part of the observance of Dengue Awareness, the PHO conducted an information campaign against dengue by introducing preventive measure where leaflets were also distributed to the public.

The province’s health office is hoping that reducing the number of dengue cases in the province can become a realistic goal.

In a record from PHO, at least 401 dengue cases as of January to May this year were reported, a significant drop from 1,749 in the same period last year.

A total of  3,584 cases were recorded in 2013.

From January to May this year, Carcar City has the highest incidence of dengue in the province with 48 cases, followed by Balamban with 41 and Minglanilla, 39.

Symptoms of dengue include high fever that could last until two to seven days, pain behind the eyes and in the joints, muscles, and bones, rash over most of the body, severe headache and mild bleeding from the nose or gums. (FREEMAN)