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Thursday, September 01, 2005
Dengue kills one more, ups toll to 24
Half of the 72 Cebu City barangays affected by the dengue virus have already been sprayed with anti-dengue chemicals, but the disease continues to claim lives in the same areas.
A 19-year-old male resident of Barangay Guadalupe is the latest fatality.
Dr. Daisy Villa, dengue coordinator of the City Health Department, said misting activities are not effective in the long-term dengue prevention campaign, so they decided to limit the use of chemicals.
Instead of misting, they are now focusing on the environmental-etymological survey of all 72 barangays with dengue cases.
“The environmental sanitation campaign is more effective than misting, because it has long-term effects. The residents are taught how to locate and eliminate the breeding sites of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” Villa told Sun.Star Cebu.
As of Aug. 25, a total of 868 cases of dengue have been recorded in Cebu City since January, 23 of which resulted in death.
The number does not include yet the male patient from Guadalupe who died yesterday dawn, since the patient’s records still have to be forwarded to the City Health Department.
So far, the department has conducted house-to-house etymological surveys in 15 barangays, with sanitary inspectors focusing on Guadalupe and Banawa.
Guadalupe has the highest number of dengue cases, with six deaths so far.
During the survey, Villa said they visit the houses in dengue-affected communities and identify the areas, indoor or outdoor, where the larvae could be breeding.
“We try to make the people understand that misting is only a temporary solution and environmental sanitation will help more.
Unfortunately, sometimes there is no action among the homeown-ers,” Villa lamented.
The death yesterday of a young man has also raised the need for swift action on dengue fever cases.
Help
Guadalupe Barangay Captain Eugenio “Jingjing” Faelnar said he did not rush help for the patient, because a broadcaster told him the teenager was already dead. Faelnar sits in the Cebu City Council as president of the barangays’ federation.
Had he been told the patient was still alive, he could have asked personnel of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) to pick the teenager up, Faelnar said.
In a telephone interview, Faelnar said he received a call past 4 a.m. from a radio station worker, telling him that a woman from Guadalupe needed help because her son had dengue.
But in the middle of the conversation, the man gave the phone to a broadcaster, who told Faelnar that the patient already died.
“When he told me that the victim was dead, I asked (the broadcaster) to tell the parents to come to my house or my office anytime, so I can give them help.
Don’t blame me for the patient’s death or say that I failed to help, because that is wrong,” Faelnar said. (LCR/With AIV)
(September 1, 2005 issue)
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