March 29, 2024

Dengue infection is also one of the public health concerns in Benguet having recorded nine patients, who at the same time tested positive for Covid-19.

Provincial Health Office Coordinator, Dr. Imelda Ulep, reported during the Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force meeting these nine patients infected both with dengue and Covid virus were among the 109 Covid cases recorded in the province recently.

Ulep said the patients were admitted at the Benguet General Hospital.

The Benguet PHO has logged 1,314 dengue cases from the 13 towns from Jan. 1 to Aug. 7.

Gov. Melchor Diclas said they have asked the different municipalities to reactivate their res-pective dengue task forces to drum up the information education campaign against the infection.  

He said the task force is conducting information drive, particularly on the 4 o’clock habit, which urges the public to clean their surroundings from possiblebreeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquito every 4:00 p.m.

“They should seek early consultation if they experience a fever for one to three days whileself-protection is also important,” Diclas said.

Meanwhile, the recorded 1,314 dengue cases in the province since the start of the year is 223 percent higher compared to the 407 cases reported in the same period last year. The youngest of those infected is two months old while the oldest is at 93 years old.

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, which is an acute viral infection, is now a year-round disease and affects mostly young children and infants. – Ofelia C. Empian