ILOILO City – Look for stagnant water and get rid of it.
This is the correct way of cleaning surroundings to get rid of dengue mosquitoes, said Dr. Marlyn Convocar, director of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas.
Convocar observed the recent cleanup activities in this city and Iloilo province. Mostly done along roads, these did not impress her.
“Pangitaa kon diin may tubig kag didto kamo paninlo. Indi dira sa gwa dalan kag magpa-picture,” Convocar said.
The provincial and city governments of Iloilo are under a state of calamity due to dengue.
Aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus are day-biting mosquitoes that breed in clear, stagnant water.
“Ang lamok waay sa dalan. Kinanglan pangitaon naton kon diin ang tubig kag didto aton tinluan,” stressed Convocar.
The cleanup should start at home, she added, where stagnant water could have collected even in unlikely containers such as bamboo fences, plants with wide leaves and roof gutters, among others.
DOH is promoting the 4S strategy against dengue. It stands for: search and destroy mosquito breeding places, self-protection measures, seek early consultation for fever lasting more than two days, and say “no” to indiscriminate fogging.
When local governments fail to invest in dengue preventive measures, outbreaks ensue, according to Health secretary Francisco Duque who visited Iloilo city province on July 25.
From Jan. 1 this year to July 20 (29th morbidity week), the Provincial Health Office of Iloilo recorded 8,987 dengue cases with 31 deaths – 1,166 percent higher than the 710 cases with four deaths recorded in the same period in 2018.
In the whole region as of July 13, dengue cases reached 18, 834 with 94 deaths. Josef Alexander Denila, DOH Region 6 senior health program officer, said they recorded 1,919 new cases in just a week (July 6 to July 13).
The age range of dengue victims is between 27 days old to 98 years old.
The one year old to 10 years old age group has the most number of cases.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea / vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rash.
For severe dengue, the warning signs to look out for are: severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in vomit, fatigue, and restlessness./PN
