WITH the rapid increase in dengue cases, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) will recommend to the Provincial Board (PB) the declaration of an early dengue outbreak.
In an interview on Wednesday, March 13, PHO Chief Rene Catan said he has already discussed the recommendation with Gov. Hilario Davide III.
The PB was also informed about the proposal, but they have yet to receive an official notice of the recommendation.
“The trend is mo-increase on the third year. But surprisingly, as early as January this year, it has already increased. That’s why we floated the idea to the PB that we might have to declare an early outbreak of dengue. I’d like the public’s awareness on dengue to be heightened, rather than declare an outbreak only when a lot of people have already died,” Catan said.
In 2015, only 2,461 dengue cases were reported. The number rose in 2016 with 9,063 cases. The following year, a total of 4,914 cases and 45 deaths were reported. This rose to 5,363 cases with 26 deaths in 2018.
The number, though, increased rapidly at the start of 2019.
Records of the PHO as of Wednesday, March 13, showed that there were 1,213 dengue cases in January and another 886 cases were reported in February.
A total of nine fatalities were also recorded in the cities of Bogo and Toledo, and the towns of Sta. Fe, Tuburan, Pinamungajan, San Remigio, Bantayan, Daanbantayan and Balamban.
Catan also reiterated the need to incorporate ovitrapping in the school curriculum.
Ovitraps are used for monitoring and can detect disease-carrying mosquitoes, acting as an early warning signal to preempt an outbreak.
“We requested the governor to include dengue in the education curriculum because children are the most vulnerable to dengue. Through a shift in strategy, I hope we can all work together in improving the dengue situation,” Catan said. (RTF)