BACOLOD – Already grappling with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, local authorities here has another reason to worry as rainy season is underway – dengue hemorrhagic fever.
To ensure dengue will not add to the burden of the city’s health-care system in fighting COVID-19, the city council here passed a resolution enjoining all barangays to intensify their campaign against the mosquito-borne disease.
“Bacolod should take an extraordinary precaution to intensify its campaign against dengue,” stressed city councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., who authored the resolution.
Gamboa reminded the public to constantly practice the “4S” habit of searching and destroying mosquito-breeding places; implementing self-protection measures; seeking early consultation; and saying “no” to indiscriminate fogging.
“Our barangays have the ability to identify, monitor and clean up the different areas vulnerable as breeding ground for mosquitoes including those carrying dengue,” the councilor said.
The City Health Office recently announced it recorded a decrease in dengue cases during the first months of 2020.
From the beginning of the year through May 16, CHO reported 155 total dengue fever cases, with zero death.
This is 68 percent lower compared to the 480 cases with one death for the same period in 2019.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environment Sanitation Division, attributed the lower number of cases to fewer rains in the last quarter of 2019 and first quarter of 2020.
She said rainy days are usually considered the season for dengue infections since mosquitoes breed in areas with stagnant water.
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. (WHO/PN)
