City fears surge of dengue, diarrhea cases

Saturday, January 14, 2012

THE City Government expressed alarm on the possible surge of diarrhea and dengue cases due to the “unpredictable weather.”

Councilor Dante Pajo, chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Health and Sanitation, said Friday at least eight persons, seven of whom are children, are afflicted with diarrhea while three children were reported to have dengue.

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Pajo said the situation on dengue is alarming, citing that mosquitoes are laying their eggs in stagnant waters brought about by the unpredictable weather.

“This is anticipated that right after leptospirosis, dengue will follow,” Pajo said.

He said the City Health Office has already created a task force that included the City Department of the Interior and Local Government (CDILG), which is now doing the information drive on dengue prevention.

On diarrhea, Pajo said this might be due to the unavailability of safe water for drinking.

He said that although water supply has already returned to normal, the water that comes out from the faucet is still not safe for drinking.

“There are some portions in the city with less water pressure. There are also pipe leaks that would lead to contamination of the water,” Pajo said.

The City Council is now urging the people to boil the water first before drinking.

Pajo said some of those who have diarrhea come from the evacuation centers.

“We are now concentrating on disseminating information to prevent dengue and diarrhea to different barangays through the barangay and city health workers,” he said.