Thursday, October 16, 2008
Dengue cases drop but deaths rise
WHILE the number of incidents is lower, more people died of dengue this year compared to the same period last year.
What gladdened Cebu City councilors, however, is the report that barangays that used to have the most number of dengue cases showed zero incidence last month.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, quoting a report by the City Health Department City Epidemiology Surveillance and Statistics Unit (CESSU), yesterday said that as of Oct. 11, 996 got afflicted with dengue, 45 of whom died.
While the number of cases this year is 22.79 percent lower compared to the 1,290 incidents recorded in 2007, the number of deaths is 66.67 percent more than last year, when only 27 persons died of dengue.
And while they were happy in the reduction of den-gue incident this year, a few city councilors expressed concern over the higher number of deaths, which could mean that dengue is more virulent this year.
Carillo also reported that barangays like Talamban and Lahug, which in the past months have the most number of dengue cases, reported no cases.
It drew a comment from City Councilor Nestor Archival, who said it seemed the City is successful in its campaign to combat the menace.
Heavy rains
Based on the CESSU records, cases of infection increase during the months when there are heavy rains, starting in July and well up to the first quarter of the succeeding year.
Records since July this year, however, showed a declining trend in terms of the number of cases.
Aside from mist spraying in school campuses and the communities, City and barangay officials have also conducted information campaigns warning the public of the risk of dengue and informing them on how to avoid getting afflicted.
Because of similar efforts, which include tapping the help of students of a nursing school in their territory, Bulacao officials led by Barangay Captain Romeo Alit yesterday earned praise from the city council members.
Bacayan, Sambag I, and Talamban were supposed to also give a similar report on what each barangay has done in terms of addressing the problem, but only Bulacao officials showed up in yesteday’s city council session. (RHM)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (October 16, 2008 issue)
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