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Monday, August 15, 2005
Mayor assures no let-up in anti-dengue drive
BAGUIO City Mayor Braulio Yaranon has assured that there will be no letup in the City's campaign for the prevention of dengue fever even if the number of cases in the city remains within the normal level.
Yaranon said he had instructed health authorities in the city to sustain the preventive measures against the disease, which has caused numerous deaths in Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Quezon City.
"Our health officials are implementing the requisite measures and I'm sure they are on top of the situation to avoid increase in the cases," he said.
City health officer Florence Reyes said fogging operations are now being implemented in schools and barangays, which are considered high-risk areas.
Reyes urged the public to familiarize themselves with the disease's prevention measures to avert the possibility of contracting the disease and with its symptoms and cure to ensure treatment of the patients.
Health authorities have established that dengue has a cyclic trend of every three years' occurrence. The first dengue outbreak in the city was in 1995 when the number of cases surged to high levels albeit no epidemic was declared.
The outbreak was repeated in 1998 and then in 2001. The next rash in cases however occurred a year earlier or in 2003 instead of the expected 2004.
The City Health Office asked the public to continue observing the 4 o'clock habit, which encourages residents to rid their houses and surroundings of mosquito breeding places like empty bottles, cans, tires, vases and others.
The use of personal protective gadgets like mosquito nets and repellants is also encouraged.
Dengue fever is an infection caused by dengue virus, which is transmitted by the bite of an infective female Aedes mosquito. Aedes mosquitoes are "day biters" and biting activities peak at 6 to 8 a.m. and at 4 to 6 p.m.
Signs and symptoms of dengue fever are on-and-off fever lasting for two to seven days; loss of appetite; nausea/vomiting; abdominal pain; body weakness; small reddish spots on chest area, arms and legs; bleeding signs (nose and gum bleeding, vomiting blood, bloody stools and abdominal pain); restlessness; weak, rapid pulse; cold, clammy skin; and difficulty in breathing.
Those persons who manifest the symptoms should remember the following: High fever should be treated by sponging and giving Paracetamol and not aspirin as it may cause bleeding and/or gastric irritation and must increase fluid intake or use oral rehydration solution.
Patients with persisting symptoms should be brought immediately to the nearest health center or hospital.
Meanwhile, dengue fever cases in the city decreased by 25 percent, the local health authorities disclosed in a meeting with Yaranon.
Assistant City health officer Rowena Galpo reported that there were 85 dengue cases recorded from January to July this year in seven hospitals in the city. The number was lower than the 113 cases recorded for the same period last year.
She said the efforts of residents in environment sanitation, particularly the elimination of the breeding places of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito should be sustained and intensified as cases were observed to peak by August and September.
"Eliminating breeding sites is still the best and most effective control of the dengue vector. Fumigation is recommended only as an immediate control during unusual rise in cases and in clustered areas," she said. (AR)
(August 15, 2005 issue)
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