FOLLOWING reports of an 87-percent increase in dengue fever cases in the
Cordillera Administrative Region in the first 17 weeks of 2018, Senator Nancy Binay on Sunday called on authorities to intensify information and cleanup drives to prevent rainy season diseases, particularly dengue fever.
Binay described as “alarming” the almost 100-percent increase in dengue fever cases in Cordillera from January to May based on the report of the Department of Health.
She said the health and education departments should help spread the right and timely information to educate everybody about dengue.
The Department of Health-Cordillera (DoH-CAR) reported that out of the total dengue cases recorded in the region this year, 266 (29.5 percent) came from Kalinga; 195 (21.6 percent) from Benguet; 104 (11.5 percent) from Baguio City; 76 (8.4 percent) from Apayao; 67 (7.4 percent) from Abra; 24 (2.7 percent) each from Ifugao and Mountain Province; and 147 cases (16.7 percent) from non-CAR provinces.
Binay said that possible dengue outbreaks and spikes in cases could be attributed to poor sanitation, improper waste management, and unhygienic surroundings.
The senator also called on the mobilization of local authorities, the AFP reserve force, and the DPWH to help in cleanup drives, especially in school grounds.
“More can be bitten in schools by dengue fever carrying mosquitoes so let us focus on cleanliness. Let us check the possible breeding ground of moswuitors like stagnant water,” Binay said.
“Let us also focus on our drainage systems, water storage, catchments and impounding facilities at flood-prone areas,” she added.
Binay said it was alarming that spikes in dengue fever cases in certain regions were also happening.
“Prevention is always the better option, so authorities must act immediately to stop or minimize the impact of rainy season diseases, particularly possible outbreaks of dengue fever,” the senator added.
Binay said that authorities should seriously take a look at the steps to prevent dengue fever, as the country and the rest of the Asean commemorates June 15 as Association of South East Asian Nations Dengue Day.
“[There are] “4S” prevention measures… The 4S stands for search and destroy, self-protection measures, seek early consultation and say no to indiscriminate fogging,” she said.
“Authorities should ensure that we minimize or even stop this disease from spreading,” she added.
A total of 131,827 dengue cases including 732 deaths were reported in the country from January 1 to December 2, 2017, data from the DoH and WHO said.
The number is 36.9 percent lower than that for the same period in 2016 or 208,805 cases, according to the same report.