AS the deadly dengue disease cases continue to rise and even Senator Juan Ponce Enrile contracting the disease, House independent bloc leader Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez of Leyte called for an intensified effort against dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Romualdez stressed that prevention is better than cure as he urged every family to launch a search and destroy mission against the deadly mosquitoes.
“Starting inside our house, each member of the family should show compassion. Mag-umpisa tayo sa sarili nating bahay sa pamamagitan ng pagtatanggal ng mga tubig na alam nating pamumugaran ng mga lamok,” said Romualdez.
The lawmaker emphasized the cleanliness of surroundings especially during this rainy season.
“Kung nakakapaghanda tayo ng mas maaga laban sa bagyo, maging maingat rin tayo sa posibleng epekto ng mga pagbaha lalo na doon sa mga lugar na matagal bumaba ang tubig-baha,” said Romualdez.
The solon has observed that neglecting to rid the backyard of discarded tires, plastics, paper cups or anything that could store water, contributes to the rising dengue cases in the country.
Romualdez issued the reminder following an almost 10 percent increase of cases recorded by the Department of Health as of Aug. 8 compared during the same period in 2014.
Dengue, a disease common in tropical and sub-tropical countries in the world, is transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito. Dengue fever is potentially fatal and mainly affects children.
Aside from maintaining cleanliness, Romualdez urged households to plant mosquito-repellant plants like citronella to ward off the insect that carries the deadly virus.
Other plants that are said to be insect-repellant are marigold, catnip, lemon balm or lemon thyme as well as pine and cedar trees and lavender and lime basil.
Romualdez said that the intensified campaign of DoH in coordination with the local government units, against dengue cannot succeed without the cooperation of everyone.
“All of us are in risk here. We have to do it also by ourselves. The government could not do it alone. This big battle against dengue needs the cooperation of each and every Filipino family. Let us clean our surroundings,” said Romualdez.
Recently, the DOH reported that its latest cumulative data from Jan. 1 to Aug. 8, 2015, showed that the number of dengue cases in the country increased by 9.15 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to DOH Spokesman Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy, a total of 55,079 suspected dengue cases were recorded from all the regions in the country. Such figure was higher compared to just 50,462 reported cases during the same period of 2014.
Region 4A (Calabarzon or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) has the highest number of dengue cases at 8,351. Next to Region 4A is Region 3 (Central Luzon) with 7,165 cases, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 6,090 cases; Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), 4,813 cases; and Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), 4,110 cases.
Data from the agency’s Epidemiology Bureau on Public Health Surveillance Division from the different regions that reported the cases showed the majority of the victims were males aged 5-14 years.