Councilor seeks action as dengue cases surge

Councilor seeks action as dengue cases surge
AP
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A local legislator questioned the effectiveness of Cebu City’s anti-dengue campaign after 2,831 cases were reported as of Oct. 3, 2024, a significant increase from the 674 cases recorded during the same period last year.

During the council’s regular session on Wednesday, Oct. 16, Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos urged Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to take a closer look into the management of the City Health Department (CHD).

“Until when do you take drastic actions to effect change for the better? This very data reflects the incompetence and shows how unfortunately mismanaged the CHD is,” said De los Santos.

De los Santos expressed her concerns when the council tackled CHD head Daisy Villa’s report on dengue cases in the City on Wednesday.

De los Santos said that despite the data available as reported by the department, a concrete, comprehensive solution and action to minimize the incidents are nonexistent.

She questioned whether the City Government had evaluated the barangays’ dengue campaign program or had collaboratively worked with them to intensify the program.

She said that the disposal of resources and the management of cases are within the reach of CHD. However, according to de los Santos, “somehow, somewhere, the city falters.”

Further, Councilor Rey Gealon requested the Department of Health (DOH) 7 for technical advice and action on the City’s alarming number of cases with regard to the declaration of a dengue outbreak.

He also requested the CHD to coordinate and collaborate with the DOH 7 in their action against dengue.

SunStar Cebu tried to reach out to Garcia about whether he would call on a public health emergency due to the rise of dengue cases, but the latter has yet to respond to messages.

Previously, on Sept. 30, Garcia said that he did not see the need for such a declaration.

The same goes with Villa, who told SunStar Cebu that dengue has always been present, saying that there is a trend that dengue cases go up every two to three years, especially when it rains.

The data that Villa reported to the Council showed that in January, there were 94 dengue cases in the city; 100 cases were reported in February; 73 in March; 57 in April; 55 in May; 59 in June; 283 in July; 790 in August; 1,065 in September; and 255 on Oct. 1-3.

Of the 2,831 cases, 941 are confirmed, while the remaining 1,890 are suspected cases, and a total of 17 deaths—11 confirmed and six suspected—were reported.

In 2023, there were 573 cases, with 28 confirmed cases and four suspected deaths.

“The annual dengue cases in Cebu City exhibit a temporal trend with a peak in 2019 (2,945 cases) and the lowest point in 2021 (256 cases). Most dengue cases were recorded during July to September, exhibiting a strong seasonal pattern and primarily concentrated within the wet season,” said Villa in the report.

As to the actions taken, Villa reported that they implemented the “5S” of the dengue prevention campaign to the public, which are search and destroy, secure self-protection, seek early consultation, support vector-control measures, and sustain hydration.

SunStar Cebu tried to reach out to Villa to seek comments on the councilor’s request, but the doctor has yet to reply as of the presstime.

Earlier, de los Santos also raised serious concerns to the council regarding the alleged mismanagement of Villa at the CHD.

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