DOH: City may declare dengue outbreak

DOH: City may declare dengue outbreak



WITH the continuous rise of dengue cases in Davao City, the Department of Health (DOH)-Davao said there is a high probability for the city to declare an outbreak.

Dr. Cleofe Tabada, chief of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU), said before a certain local government unit (LGU) shall declare an outbreak, certain requirements should be met. These include laboratory surveillance, environmental investigation, epidemiologic investigation, and surveillance data for at least three years.

She said for several years, Davao City consistently topped as having the most cases of dengue across the region.

“Ang nahitabo sa Davao City, permi lang siya taas for so many years, so kung tan-awon nato ang pattern, mao ng ginatawag na nato siya nga hyper endemic kay mura bag dili na gani mahitabo ang isa ka tuig nga walay ma-zero siya og dengue (We labeled dengue in Davao City as hyper endemic because every year there is a high number of dengue cases),” Tabada said.

Davao City registered the highest number of dengue cases at 1,630 in Davao Region from January 1 to July 15.

The surge of dengue in the city, which is a highly-urbanized city, could be attributed to the number of population.

“Kung imong pangutana ang Davao City naay possibility nga mag epidemic, dako kaayo tungod sa kadaghan sa kaso, kompleto ta sa factors, atong mga lamok, duol kaayo sa mga tao. So dako kaayo ang possibility (There is a big possibility for dengue to be an epidemic in Davao City because the factors are there –- the carrier which is the mosquito is much nearer to the people),” she said.

She added, “Ang declaration naa man gud na sa local government unit. Again kung kompleto ba sila adto kay pwede man gud ka nga musulti nga naa kay problema, naa koy kalamidad pero pag muingon kag epidemic, it has to be proven scientifically. Naa kay basis (The declaration would still be up to the local government as long as they completed the needed requirements and have a scientific basis to declare it).”

Tabada said an outbreak means anything unusual and off the pattern. Earlier, the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) government has declared a state of calamity due to the dengue fever outbreak.

Meanwhile, health officials appealed to the public to seek early consultation should they have already observed signs and symptoms of dengue.

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