ILOILO City – The City Health Office (CHO) has once again called on barangays and residents to hold regular cleanup activities to combat the rising cases of dengue.
As of July 4, 326 dengue cases were recorded in the city – 54.4 percent higher than last year’s cases in the same period – and with 64.6 percent attack rate, data from the CHO showed.
“That’s why gina-intensify naton ang campaign against dengue. Gina-encourage gid naton ang mga kabarangayan, ang pagpanglimpyo sang palibot regular gid dapat kag ang sa sulod mismo sang panimalay… Kon indi kita magkooperar sa pagpanglimpyo basi magsige-sige saka ang aton mga cases sa dengue,” said CHO Medical Officer IV Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna.
Fortuna noted that it is usually during these months that the dengue cases surge, with the rainy season where mosquitoes can easily breed in stagnant water.
Of the total cases this year, eight are still active while 315 have recovered and three died.
The three deaths were 15-year-old male from Barangay So-oc, Arevalo district; 28-year-old male from Barangay Calajunan, Mandurriao district; and nine-year old male from Sto. Niño Norte, Arevalo.
Clustering of cases was also logged in several barangays such as Lanit, Jaro; Calaparan and Sto. Niño Norte in Arevalo; and Hibao-an Sur, Mandurriao.
The CHO is also taking steps to raise awareness among the city residents by conducting “pulong-pulong sa barangay” as well as misting and distribution of larvaecides.
Despite the rising of cases, Fortuna said the city could not declare a state of calamity or outbreak due to dengue as alert threshold or parameters have not yet been reached.
“Hopefully indi lang gid madugangan nga mag-shoot up. Kinanglan naton mapanubu ang mga cases kag malikawan ang mga deaths,” he stressed./PN
