Dengue, malaria drives to continue amid rains

AS THE rainy season is expected to be around until September, the City Health Office (CHO) vowed to strengthen its efforts to keep down the cases of mosquito-borne diseases.

CHO Tropical Unit coordinator Public Health Nurse Elizabeth Banzon said the rise of dengue and malaria cases in the city were brought on by the onset of the rainy season, and since more rainfall are expected, then they have to double their effort.

Banzon said despite the onset of the rainy season, dengue cases would go down if everybody will be helping in the campaign.

She explained that the city still has enough resources to attend to the victims needs even without dipping into reserved funds for calamities and this is the reason why the CHO did not recommend the declaration of a state of calamity.

"Although our statistics pabago-bago, tumataas to the epidemic threshold, we still have the resources to bring it down and we have to exhaust these resources first before we recommend for that recommendation. This is also per recommendation of the World Health Organization and the Department of Health which we cooperate with," Banzon said.

Banzon also stressed climate change has contributed to the rise of dengue cases as more heavy and frequent rains are observed.

"It's unpredictable when the rainy season will end, depende kung paano na naman nag-change yung ating climate, but last year it started June to September and it was within these months na mataas ang dengue cases. Only God knows kanus-a mahuman ang rainy season (when the rainy season would end)," Banzon said.

Banzon said current statistics on dengue from January to present is now at 2,782 cases and 23 deaths as one died recently due to a complication. As to malaria, the city has an estimate of more than 200 cases and one reported death.

Banzon said on July 28, the CHO would be going to sitio Damilag in Barangay Mapula, Paquibato District to check on reported cases of malaria.

"Last July 21 we went to sitio Bitan in Paquibato. Bitan is a very depressed area. We have lumads, 45 families, it's very sad kay puro lang balanghoy kaon sa mga bata didto (because cassava is all that the children eat there), 109 who had fever so we conducted a test on malaria but wala pay nag-positive (no one tested positive)," Banzon added. (JCZ)

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