Dengue cases decrease

A LOCAL health official announced on Thursday that the number of dengue cases have tremendously went down few days after a citywide clean-up drive was held in this southern port city.

City Health Officer Rodel Agbulos noted that the government-owned Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) had been receiving lately two to three dengue patients a day from a maximum of 10 patients daily before the clean-up drive was held.

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The clean-up drive was held last September 2 and was participated by the different sectors to include the police and the military.

The clean-up drive was aimed to destroy the breeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

The Department of Education (DepEd) was also tapped for a clean-up drive, also held last September 2, in all schools in the city.

The clean-up drive was held few days after the City Government, through Agbulos' office, has declared a dengue outbreak in Zamboanga City.

The dengue outbreak was declared after the number of dengue cases from January to August this year have reached 1,899 which is more than double compared to 710 cases from January to August last year.

The fatalities of dengue from January to August this year have reached 22, which is also more than double than that of last year's eight fatalities covering the same period.

Twenty of this city’s 98 villages have recorded high incidents of dengue.

Agbulos said the citywide clean-up drive held last week helped a lot in the reduction of the dengue cases in this city.

However, Agbulos appealed to the residents of this city's 98 villages to always maintain cleanliness in their respective surroundings to deny the mosquito dengue-carrier of breeding grounds.

He said cleanliness is the best way to fight dengue citing fumigation only kills adult mosquitoes but not the larvae.

Agbulos has commended all those who took time out and shared part of their precious time in the clean-up drive held last September 2. (Bong Garcia)