SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—The government’s health and sanitation efforts are paying off, as the cases of dengue in Pampanga has decreased, with 2,006 cases reported as of July 2017.
Jolly G. Garcia, provincial dengue and malaria coordinator, said there were 9,950 cases of dengue reported in 2015, which dropped to 6,625 last year.
As of July 2017, Garcia said fewer cases were received by his office, “which is an indication that we are meeting the target of 50 percent reduction within a few years.”
However, during the same period, a total of 41 persons died due to dengue, as reported by the provincial health office.
Garcia attributed the decrease in dengue cases to the health and sanitation programs of the provincial government, where a bulk of budget was spent on human development like health, education, and employment.
The efforts where the stakeholders like the Dengue Task Force, which was responsible for the awareness and education of the people on the dangers of dengue fever, contributed to the decrease.
The task force is composed of barangay captains, health workers, school principals, and other community leaders.
“The stakeholders including communities health workers are very active in the campaign by monitoring mosquito breeding grounds in their areas under the seeks and destroy strategy of the program,” Garcia said.
Also, a total of 12,290 public school students, mostly Grade 4 pupils, recently received dengue vaccination.
Ching Layung, provincial coordinator for the Expanded Program on Immunization, said the program started last April 2016 and will end this year.
Last year, about 35,000 pupils received the first dose of booster of dengue vaccine, however, the second batch beneficiaries were reduced to only 30,454 due to incidence of drop outs, transfers and change of residencies, Yalung added.