March 29, 2024

Mayor Benjamin Magalong advised residents to be on guard against dengue fever this early as the city experiences intermittent rains especially in the afternoons.

The mayor said dengue has been a serious health concern as every year, cases rise during rainy seasons experienced from June to October.

“But as we are now experiencing sporadic rains, we need to observe preventive measures like ridding our surroundings of mosquito breeding places to make sure that dengue-carrying mosquitoes will not thrive,” the mayor said.

The City Health Services Office has always advised residents on practicing the 4S strategy: search and destroy mosquito breeding places; self-protection measures (use window screens, mosquito nets, wear protective clothing, use insect repellents); seek early consultation; and say no to indiscriminate fogging.

Walang dengue kung walang lamok. Walang lamok kung walang breeding places. Walang breeding places kung malinis ang kapaligiran. Ugaliing mag-search and destroy at gawin nang sabay-sabay upang siguradong mawalan ng breeding places ang mga dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” advised Dr. Donnabel Panes, head of the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of the CHSO.

Engr. Charles Carame of the CHSO Sanitation Division said the CHSO’s dengue strategy follows the Prevent-Detect-Isolate-Treatment-Reintegration (PDITR) model: 

Prevent through the 4S strategy;

Detect through rapid testing and conduct of larval surveillance where samples of kiti-kiti are studied to predict an impending outbreak;

Isolate through a campaign for dengue-infected individuals to protect themselves from being bitten;

Treatment through an aggressive case reporting system and provision of dengue wards and fast lanes in hospitals; and

Reintegration through the sustained conduct of the strategies with the fact that dengue immunity does not cover all strains as a motivation. – Aileen P. Refuerzo