SAN JOSE, Antique – To combat the dengue outbreak, the municipality of Culasi in Antique is pushing for the declaration of the town “in state of calamity.”
According to the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), four dengue deaths have placed the town in a critical situation.
Dr. Ric Noel Naciongayo, IPHO chief, said local officials on Wednesday discussed measures to address continuous increase in dengue cases in various villages.
“The local government unit of Culasi is contemplating to declare a state of calamity so that they would be able to have funds to address the problem and assist in the treatment of the dengue victims,” added Naciongayo.
IPHO records showed from January to July 1 this year, the province has 467 dengue cases and five deaths.
The youngest casualty was an eight-month-old baby girl from Mararison, Culasi.
The oldest, meanwhile, was a 31-year-old police officer from Barangay Cansadan in the capital town.
The three other deaths all came from Culasi town to include a seven-year-old from Barangay Naba; six-year-old from Barangay Esperanza; and a nine-year-old child from Barangay Centro Norte.
He said that aside from the four reported deaths, Culasi has 106 cases of dengue, the highest in the province.
Naciongayo added they also discussed the town’s environmental sanitation since they discovered that all dengue casualties had an exposure in Barangay Esperanza.
“We visited the houses and we saw that households were storing water, which has become breeding places of mosquitoes,” he said.
The IPHO chief also said that households were instructed to get rid of the stored water left unused after five days to get rid of possible breeding places of mosquitoes.
“The local officials are planning to provide knee socks to the students to minimize mosquito bites,” he added. (With a report from PNA/PN)
