THE Davao City Health Office has encouraged Dabawenyos to take proactive measures to prevent an increase in dengue cases as the city is now under Dengue Alert Status.
Melodina Babante, coordinator of the Tropical Diseases Prevention and Control Unit under CHO, said in a radio interview on Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR), on August 21, 2024, that the community should take proactive measures and not just act when there is already an “epidemic”.
Babante reported that since January of this year, CHO has strengthened validation and surveillance in barangays to prevent the number of cases from becoming an “outbreak”.
“Dili pa ta mo-declare ug outbreak kay ma-control pa man, manageable pa man ang kaso sa dengue (We will not declare an outbreak because we can control it; the cases are still manageable),” she said.
She noted that the number of dengue cases in the city has increased to 3,457 from January to August 2024. However, compared to last year, these cases have decreased. Despite this, recent weeks have seen cases exceed the epidemic threshold, though this does not mean there is already an outbreak in the city.
As of the present, the office is not considering declaring a dengue outbreak in Davao City since surveillance and monitoring are ongoing. They want to verify whether there is indeed a clustering of dengue cases in the city and identify any breeding sites before declaring an outbreak.
The office reminds the public to practice the 5S strategy: Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; Self-protect against mosquito bites; Seek early medical consultation; Support fogging in areas with clusters of cases; and Sustain hydration.
CHO also encourages the public to search for and destroy mosquito breeding sites, seek early consultation if experiencing symptoms like fever and rashes, use self-protection measures, agree to fogging during an outbreak, and sustain hydration by drinking plenty of water. RGP