Girl, 5, dies of dengue in Cebu

CEBU CITY -- A five-year-old girl from Talisay City died of dengue fever in a government hospital last Sunday, just two days after the City Council approved a P1-million allocation to prevent and control the disease.

Chena Abatayo, a Grade 1 pupil of Barangay Lagtang, died while being treated at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in this city. She is the fourth child to have died of dengue in Talisay City this year.

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Councilor Celiapo Cabuenas, a former Lagtang village chief, observed that the city’s anti-dengue task force had just conducted misting operations in Lagtang before Chena’s death.

“We will try to find how effective really is the use of that mist-blowing machine because we have noted that the dengue cases in Talisay are rising,” added Cabuenas.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City Government is to purchase P7 million worth of drugs and medicines Tuesday, to help dengue fever patients in the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva said the amount forms part of the P10-million budget recently appropriated by the City Council, charged against the calamity fund, for the anti-dengue program.

The remaining P3 million will be reserved for emergency purchases.

In a related development, an environmentalist and lawyer called on the Cebu Provincial Government to heed the campaign of the Department of Health (DOH) against the use of chemicals on dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Speaking over dyLA radio, lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos, of the Global Legal Action against Climate Change, said officials in the province should intensify an information and education campaign, instead of using fogging or misting.

But Provincial Board (PB) Member Sergio Restauro said the Capitol will continue to have misting, only in specific areas with reported dengue cases, because it has been proven effective.

It is also human, animal and environment–friendly, he added.

Instead of the normal fogging operations, Restauro, a former councilor, initiated the use of the mist-blowing machine to fight dengue in Talisay City.

The machine uses lambda cyhylothrin chemical, which Restauro said is not harmful to the environment.

Recent misting operations proved too late, however, for the Abatayo family.

Lourdes Abatayo, the grandmother, said they had Chena, 5, checked at the Talisay District Hospital (TDH) in Barangay San Isidro for two days because of fever, starting last Aug. 31.

“She was not admitted in the hospital because her platelet count was okay. We bought all her medicines,” she said Monday.

However, Lourdes said they noticed a sudden discoloration on Chena’s face last Friday, prompting them to rush her back to the TDC. To their shock, Lourdes said the TDH attendant told them Chena’s platelet count had dropped to only 20.

The girl was then transferred to VSMMC, already on oxygen and IV fluids, she said. She died last Sunday morning.

Talisay City Hall spokesman Arturo Bas said the number of dengue cases rose to 196. Last year’s data showed Talisay City had 315 cases, with one death.

Dr. Rey Bautista, rural health unit chief, said the number of dengue cases in Talisay is still average. He advised households to keep surroundings clean and rid all containers, including cans, barrels and old rubber tires, of water where the dengue-carrying mosquitoes may breed.

In an interview, Oliva said the Cebu City Government is fast-tracking the release of funds, following reports on the rising cases of dengue in the city.

Because of the council’s recent declaration of a state of disaster preparedness, there will be no bidding for the procurement of medicines.

Oliva said the prices of the medicines will be canvassed and a certification will be sent to the bids and awards committee for the purchases.

At the PB Monday afternoon, Restauro reacted after Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr. said there is a more effective approach than misting.

Although Sanchez did not say what chemicals or brands to use, he said in a separate interview that a method that depends on “effective microorganisms” would work better.

Restauro, who heads the PB committee on health, said misting operators have been using the procedure for almost six years and have reported no problems.

Instead of discouraging misting, he said the Department of Health should explain the increase in dengue cases, not only in Cebu, but the whole country. The Province recently procured four sets of misting equipment.

Speaking also over dyLA, Restauro said adult mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus are not eradicated when breeding sites are removed.

The chemical used in misting, he added, was approved by the World Health Organization and is widely used in other countries.

Ramos, however, also called on the public and the members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to participate in the campaign against the spraying of chemicals in killing mosquitoes, saying the process is harmful to both human health and the environment.

DOH Central Visayas Director Susana Madarieta has recently announced the DOH will distribute treated mosquito nets to pupils in certain schools. Madarieta said the DOH central office will shell out P3.5 million for the nets, which are treated with permethrin, an insect repellent.

A total of 5,056 cases have been recorded as of Aug. 28 in Central Visayas. The number is 25 percent higher than figures in the same period last year. (GC/PDF/RSA/RSB/Sun.Star Cebu)