‘Use treated nets’

THE Department of Health (DOH) 7 will distribute treated mosquito nets to Grade 3 pupils in certain schools, in a bid to arrest the rise of dengue fever in the region.

A total of 5,056 cases have been recorded as of Aug. 28. The number is 25 percent higher than figures in the same period last year.

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DOH 7 Director Susana Madarieta yesterday said the DOH central office will shell out P3.5 million for the nets, which are treated with permethrin, a chemical usually used as an insect repellent.

Dengue fever has killed 11 children in Cebu City this year. It recently ended the life of a young boy in Sudlon Riverside, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

Nathaniel Coronel, 4, from Barangay Lahug, died last Sunday, said Dorinda Macasocol of the Cebu City Health Department (CHD), barely four days after he was brought for treatment to a private hospital.

As this developed, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia asked the DOH yesterday for an effective alternative to misting, so the Province can adopt it.

In the meantime, the misting process will continue.

Search

Treated nets, according to the the DOH, are more effective than fogging, a process that only eliminates adult mosquitoes and is “not environment-friendly.”

Permethrin is “less toxic and the effect of these treated nets lasts for six months,” Madarieta told reporters.

DOH Undersecretary David Lozada, meanwhile, urged barangay health workers (BHWs) to launch stronger campaigns against dengue fever.

Lozada said BHWs should double their efforts in enforcing the campaign called 4S (search and destroy, seek early treatment, self-protective measures and say no to indiscriminate fogging).

“Sila ang ating katulong sa rural areas,” he said.

Lozada is in Cebu to attend the 16th convention of the National Confederation of Barangay Health Workers of the Philippines Inc., which is celebrating its 16th
anniversary.

Although DOH tells the people to seek early treatment when they suffer some symptoms of dengue, it does not mean they should panic and be admitted to the hospital, Lozada added.

He said this misconception has led to the overcrowding in hospitals. He advised people to first have themselves monitored in their barangay health centers, where they can undergo blood tests.

Campaign

Some of the symptoms of dengue are high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains, nausea and vomiting, eye pain and rash.

Dengue is a disease caused by any one of four strains of viruses that are transmitted to humans by an infected Aedes aegypti, a day-biting mosquito.

Madarieta urged BHWs to engage their barangay officials in a campaign called Barangay Dengue Brigade, in which they visit each household and eliminate all possible breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

“Sanitary inspectors from the city health or the municipal health monitor a lot of concerns other than dengue. If we just rely on them, ending dengue will be difficult,” she said.

Madarieta added an outbreak could be declared in Central Visayas anytime soon if dengue cases are uncontrolled, especially since the region is located between Region 6 and Region 8, which were severely affected by dengue.

BHWs should encourage household members in their areas to be proactive in eliminating mosquitoes’ breeding grounds such as flower vases, dish drains and water dispensers, she said.

She noted that in Labangon, they have found mosquito larvae dwelling in an unused shoe.

“Let’s not be complacent. If we can, let’s target zero death,” she said.

As of Aug. 31, the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) reported that Toledo City has the highest number of dengue patients, with 99 cases. Talisay City follows, with 89, and then Danao City, 88 cases.

Dr. Manuel Purog, IPHO officer-in-charge, said they have been checking the patients from the province who are confined at the Cebu City Medical Center, so they will know
how the Province can help them.

Fluids

There are more than 100 dengue patients undergoing treatment at the Vicente Sotto
Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City alone.

Dr. Joseph Alesna, VSMMC chief for special concerns, said that as of Sept. 2, there were 108 dengue patients, of whom 98 are children.

Most of the patients are between zero and five years old.

But Alesna assured majority of the patients have recovered and many were discharged.

The VSMMC has a total bed capacity of 800, but as of Sept. 2, the facility recorded up to 901 admissions.

In a separate interview, Health Emergency Management Staff coordinator Dr. Expedito Medalla said the health department is ready to augment medical supplies of hospitals.

“The dextrose can be supplied by the DOH, in case of emergency, particularly for retained hospitals,” he told reporters.(Rebelander S. Basilan & Bernadette A. Parco Of Sun.Star Cebu
With Princess H. Felicitas & Rizel S. Adlawan)