Provincial Health Office (PHO) chief Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot considers the latest local dengue figures which show a 519-percent upsurge in cases of the dreaded mosquito-borne disease to be more daunting than the Department of Health’s (DOH) recent declaration of a national dengue epidemic.
“Kanang sa ni-aging tuig, same period mga 520 percent increase…kaning July since January, that’s seven months, average of 300 cases per month ang increase. Kana maoy mas hadlok tan-awon, although di ta kinahanglan magpanic, kana maoy atubangon nato,” said Cabagnot on Wednesday, a day after the DOH made the declaration.
Cabagnot in an interview with station dyRD’s Inyong Alagad early on Wednesday said that he was set to raise the issue on the rapidly increasing number of dengue cases in the province in a meeting with Governor Arthur Yap and some of the province’s barangay captains at the Capitol.
He said that some local government units and village leaders have still not boosted their efforts in cleaning their surroundings and ridding their respective areas of responsibility of potential breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
“Nanobra na ang mga executive order sukad pa sa panahon ni Governor Edgar [Chatto].Di man sa ingon na manghunaw ta pero daghan pa g’yud kaayong mga lungsod, apil ang Tagbilaran na dili kaayo magpakabana anang pagpanglimpyo,” he added.
Cabagnot said that while there have been no other measures suggested by the DOH for the general public to combat dengue, individuals should continue to practice the department’s 4S strategy against the dreaded disease which involves searching and destroying mosquito breeding places; securing self-protection; seeking early consultation; and supporting misting in hotspot places.
According to Cabagnot, the problem on dengue can be addressed through the collective efforts of the government and the public. Clean-up drives should be done at home, in communities and schools, he said.
“Sigeng panglimpyo mga ginikanan sa ilang balay pero ilang silingan wala, pila ray pagtabok sa lamok sa pikas padung sa ila. Kung manglimpyo ka sa imong palibot pero nig adto sa gawas, mo skwela mga bata, pero ang swkelahan wa manglimpyo posibli gihapon ang dengue,” he said.
Data released by the DOH’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) 7 last week showed that 618 new dengue cases and six deaths due to dengue were recorded in just over a month from June 22 to July 27, 2019.
The figures pushed the latest tally of dengue cases and deaths for the year to 2,153 and 23, respectively. With just 348 cases recorded in the same period last year, the increase marked a whopping 519-percent upsurge.
On Tuesday, the DOH declared a national dengue epidemic citing that the country is facing a “staggering” rate of infection at 5,100 cases per week.
A total of 146,062 dengue cases were recorded nationwide from January 1 to July 20, marking a 98-percent increase from the figure reported in the same period last year, said DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III. (AD)