Councilor alarmed over increase of dengue cases

CITY Councilor Dante Pajo expressed alarm over the increasing number of dengue patients confined in various hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City.

Pajo, chairman of the City Council’s committee on health and sanitation, noted that J.R. Borja Memorial Hospital has 17 dengue patients admitted in a week.

Of 1,000 dengue cases recorded in Cagayan de Oro, there were already four fatalities from January to August this year.

“I could say that this is already alarming because the city never reached this rate before,” Pajo said.

However, he said that the local government or health office has no authority in declaring an outbreak because it is the Department of Health
(DOH) that can affirm such.

With this, Pajo said they are now intensifying and strengthening their massive campaign with the City Health Office (CHO) as the lead agency for dengue prevention and control through its Task Force Dengue.

The campaign, he said, is designed to integrate the approaches of city departments and enhance the involvement of communities in environmental cleanup drives to contain the spread of the disease.

The information and sanitation campaign underscores the importance of maintaining cleanliness and sanitation in reducing the number of potential breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes, which usually thrive on stagnant water, old tires, roof gutters, refrigerator drainers and indoor plants. This is a continuing campaign.

“Cleaning the surrounding is the most important thing to do especially that dengue-carrying mosquitoes choose no time,” Pajo said. (Annabelle L. Ricalde)