Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Dengue alert still in effect but cases starting to level off: official
ALTHOUGH the number of dengue cases this year is still 10 percent lower than the same period last year, the deaths have already surpassed by two the number of deaths last year.
The latest record of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (Resu) 7 showed that 29 persons have died from dengue this year, and 1,145 cases have been reported in the whole region.
Dengue claimed the lives of seven children in Minglanilla, Cebu, which resulted in the declaration of a dengue outbreak in the town’s six barangays: Tulay, Tungkop, Pakigne, Poblacion Ward 2, Ward 3 and Ward 4.
Resu coordinator Rennan Cimafranca said that while the cases have “leveled off” in Minglanilla, the Department of Health (DOH) 7 cannot lift the declaration of dengue outbreak just yet.
“Dili pa ta kaingon nga under control but level off na, wala na nisaka or ninaog. Wala na nagpatuyang og saka pareho sa una nga nakuyawan ta (We can’t say it’s already under control but it’s leveling off. It’s no longer increasing sharply like before when we were alarmed),” he said in a press conference yesterday.
2 weeks
Last June, six deaths were blamed on dengue in the different barangays in Minglanilla. Last Friday, a seventh casualty was recorded.
Cimafranca said they have to ensure that there would be a decrease in the number of cases in at least two weeks. Dengue has a two-week incubation period.
DOH maintains its surveillance in at least four areas: Minglanilla, Naga and the cities of Talisay and Mandaue. The last three areas were already declared as dengue hot spots.
In Mandaue City, Mayor Jonas Cortes said he will wait for DOH’s recommendation before declaring Barangay Mantuyong a calamity area because of dengue.
Information campaign
The declaration is needed to access calamity funds that can be used to deal with an outbreak.
Cortes said the city is trying to stop the spread of the disease through cleaning up canals, clearing drainage systems, and implementing and information campaign.
He said a meeting is scheduled with residents and officials of Barangay Mantuyong, where a boy died of the disease last week, to discuss ways to prevent dengue.
Minglanilla has already recorded 68 dengue cases and seven deaths since the start of the year. Mandaue recorded five deaths, Naga with four and Talisay has three.
An area will be monitored when dengue cases are already considered to be clustered or an increase in the number of cases confined in one barangay. This can be elevated to a hotspot if there is consistent increase every week. An outbreak will be declared once the clustering consistently increases within two weeks and if the increase is beyond the usual trend within five years.
Dr. Expedito Medalla of the Health Emergency Management Staff (Hems) also answered criticisms that health officials are only concerned about statistics and have not been effective in preventing the increase in dengue cases.
“It’s ironic but the people know we are doing something,” Medalla said.
DOH was in Minglanilla last week conducting health education and fogging in some barangays to help control the dengue outbreak.
There are also reports that dengue victims have resorted to taking in a local weed known as “mangagaw” to cure the illness.
Folk medicine
There is no known medicine to cure dengue yet, and the weed Euphorbria hirta or “mangagaw,” which thrives in open spaces, is reportedly used by folk medicine practitioners and many households to counter dengue hemorrhagic fever.
A decoction of the weed’s leaves, stems and roots, mixed with juice or milk, is said to be an effective antidote for dengue fever.
But there is no scientific evidence to prove this.
“It is not yet proven as effective but the advantage is the fluid taken in by the patients,” explained Cimafranca.
Dengue fever reduces the components of blood particularly the platelet. (JGA/with OCP)
