LOCAL officials in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue are set to deploy their resources now that dengue cases in both areas are on the rise.
In Cebu City, officials of the City Health Department (CHD) are set to use all of their available resources to quell the dengue threat from their barangays.
Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, CHD head, said they will distribute for installation insecticide-impregnated bed nets to the city’s barangays to repel and kill dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
He also urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Cebu City office to compel barangay officials to activate their Dengue Task Force as a way to combat the dengue threat.
Based on CHD’s records, around 422 dengue cases with 14 deaths have been reported in the city from January 1 to May 15.
But the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH 7) records showed that Cebu City had 708 cases and 11 deaths.
Mandaue City
In Mandaue City, the health department has started conducting careful monitoring of the city’s barangays for dengue cases to immediately implement measures to quell its rise.
Percy Mendoza-Pongasi, Mandaue City Health Office (CHO) dengue coordinator, said they were ordered by Mayor Jonas Cortes to inspect barangays, especially dengue-prone areas, with barangay health workers and the city’s sanitary inspectors and implement misting.
A recent report by the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit in Central Visayas showed that Mandaue City ranked third, behind Lapu-Lapu and Cebu City, in number of dengue cases in the cities within the region from January 1 to May 7, 2022.
The city has 214 cases with two deaths compared to 2021, when Mandaue ranked fourth with only 31 cases and zero deaths over the same period.
Aside from the city’s move to conduct surveillance and misting in dengue-prevalent areas, Pongasi urged the public to clean their surroundings, especially now that the rainy season has started.
He also urged those individuals experiencing dengue symptoms such as fever and rash to immediately visit the City Health Office for a free consultation, complete blood count (CBC), and dengue test. (HIC, JKV)