ONE thousand eighty-one cases with nine deaths.

As per the Department of Health (DoH) Western Visayas, Bacolod City has the highest admission of dengue cases while Iloilo Province got the highest number of recorded fatalities at 24 followed by the Province of Negros Occidental at 14 based on the January 1 to October 3, 2009 report from the 29 sentinel sites regionwide.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

As of October 10, the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) said barangay Estefania had the highest number of dengue cases at 138 among its 31,840 residents, followed by Villamonte, Mansilingan, Taculing, Bata, Alijis, Tangub, Mandalagan, Banago, Singcang, Handumanan, Granada, Pahanocoy and Barangay 7, in short, the city’s mostly-populated areas.

The CHO and city officials are urging residents to do their share in the fight against dengue.

Simple steps and practices that really do not need to be advertised to be complied with.
Such prevention and control includes covering water drums and water pails at all times to prevent mosquitoes from breeding, replacing water in flower vases once a week, cleaning all water containers once a week, scrubbing the sides well to remove eggs of mosquitoes sticking to the sides;

Cleaning gutters of leaves and debris so that rain water will not collect as breeding places of mosquitoes, collecting and disposing of all unusable tin cans, jars, bottles and other items that can collect and hold water and puncturing or cutting old tires used as roof support to avoid accumulation of water, among others.

Proactive rather than reactive.

While health officials strengthen the monitoring and bid to curtail this deadly disease, the community should also be vigilant and cooperative. And this vigilance and cooperation should start at our own homes.