DENGUE cases in Davao City reached 1,414, as of July 31, after the City Health Office (CHO) recorded an increase of 293 confirmed cases from the previous month.
City Health Office (CHO) Tropical Disease and Control Division Test Control worker Melodina Babante said although the increase did not reach its epidemic threshold of more than 10,000 cases, which was last recorded in 2010, she said the continuous increase of recorded dengue cases in the city is an alarming situation.
Babante added that there are already seven confirmed death cases while they are still confirming three other cases.
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, August 6, declared a national dengue epidemic as cases continued to increase.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration in a joint press conference at Camp Aguinaldo Tuesday with officials of the Department of National Defense and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
From January 1 to July 20, 2019, Duque said there have been a total of 146,062 dengue cases, including 622 deaths. This was almost double the cases recorded in the same period in 2018.
Babante said their agency, along with the DOH and representatives of each affected barangays never failed to do their part in addressing the looming dengue situation. However, she said the lack of the community’s cooperation remains to be the problem.
“Ang community mismo, if naa man mu-participate, gagmay lang. Kasagaran sa atong mga residente diria sa Davao City wala siya’y pakialam. Diha lang sila mulihok kung naa na’y kaso (The community itself has the problem. Although there are quite a few, but most of the residents in Davao City don’t seem to care at all. They will only take action if there are already existing dengue cases in their areas),” Babante told SunStar Davao in a phone interview.
While the 4S practice is considered an effective means to combat dengue, she said the CHO only resorts to fogging when it is needed. The 4S stands for searching and destroying mosquito breeding places; securing self-protection measures like wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent, seeking early consultation; and support fogging and spraying in hotspot areas.
Babante said Toril District, particularly in barangay areas of Daliao, Lubugan and Sirawan, had the most number of dengue cases. Followed by Buhangin District and Barangay 76-A (Bucana).
She said dengue cases mostly occur in squatter areas wherein the prevalence of improper waste disposal and clogging of main canals contributed to the rampant growth of dengue-carrying mosquitos.
She also said there is a high chance the number of cases would exceed to 2,000 before the end of the year.
4 O’clock Habit
Duque said that together with the other government agencies, local government units, and schools, they will conduct the “4-o’clock habit para Deng-get out” vector control program which aims to search and destroy mosquito breeding sites.
In Davao City, DOH will relaunch their “4 O’clock Habit” program tomorrow, August 8, in Davao City to prevent dengue-carrying mosquitos to thrive and eradicate mosquito-breeding places.
DOH-Davao Dengue Control and Prevention Program Manager Engineer Antonietta Ebol said Tuesday that the ceremonial dengue 4 o’clock habit – search and destroy - will be held in Matina Crossing, Davao City on Thursday afternoon. She added that the area was identified by the Davao City Health Office (CHO).
Health officials confirmed that this year is considered as an epidemic year for dengue and its cases are expected to go up because of the three-year pattern, thus, DOH has been taking measures to effectively address and minimize the mosquito-borne virus.
The “4 O’clock Habit” seeks to raise awareness and encourage the community to move and be part of their campaign to weed out dengue breeding sites by religiously exercising the 4 o’clock habit at home with the onset of the rainy season.
Through this, it will reduce the risk of dengue to proliferate, as mosquitoes carrying the disease are most active during dusk.
Ebol earlier urged the public to seek early consultation especially if they already observed symptoms like severe headache, pain behind eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and skin rashes before this gets worse.
She also advised the public to go to their respective health centers and ask for dengue NS1 to detect dengue for prevention.