The Benguet Provincial Health Office has urged residents to raise their guard against dengue after it recorded 873 cases with three deaths since the start of the year.
The Benguet PHO said these cases from January to July 17 represent over a three-fold increase compared to the 262 cases with no death during the same period last year.
Provincial Health Officer Nora Ruiz reported that clustering of cases were recorded in five barangays in Itogon; two barangays in Kabayan; four in La Trinidad; two in Mankayan; and one in Tuba.
Ruiz said every household must maintain cleanliness in its surroundings to destroy the breeding grounds of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
The Benguet Provincial Health Board has reactivated the Provincial Dengue Task Force that was formed during the surge of cases in 2019.
The task force is leading the information drive in the different municipalities, emphasizing on the 4 o’clock habit, which urges the public to clean their surroundings from possible dengue breeding grounds every 4 p.m.
“They should seek early consultation if they experience a fever for one to three days while self-protection is also important,” Ruiz said.
The 13 municipalities were also urged to reactivate their respective dengue task forces to drum up the campaign against the disease.
The Department of Health has the enhanced 4-S campaign against dengue which stands for search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; self-protection measures like wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; seek early consultation; and support fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak.
The DOH said dengue is a year-round disease and affects mostly young children and infants. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 25, 2024
