SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Antiqueños cleaning their surroundings helped drastically reduce dengue cases in the province.
Antique recorded 352 cases and zero deaths from Jan. 1 to Aug. 5 this year – a sharp drop from the 2,175 cases with eight deaths in 2022, said Irene Duldoco, Antique Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) information officer.
“The people, learning from their experience in 2022, now keenly observe the 4S strategy,” she said.
The IPHO advocate for the 4S strategy — search and destroy mosquito breeding places; self-protection measures like wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; seeking early consultation; and support for fogging/spraying.
“With the frequent rain in the province, water containers, old tires and other possible mosquito breeding places have to be checked to get rid of mosquito larvae,” Duldoco said.
Dengue is caused by day-biting Aedes aegypti and Aides albopictus and mosquitoes that breed in clean, stagnant water
The municipality of Sibalom, among the top five towns with high dengue incidence in the province, has only 52 cases so far this year compared to last year’s 375.
Meanwhile, the information officer said Antique recorded 39 cases of leptospirosis, including two deaths, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 5.
The fatalities were males from San Jose de Buenavista town, aged 46 and 28, who died on Jan. 8 and May 27, respectively.
The public is being urged to avoid floodwaters.
“The public is advised to go to the rural health unit for consultation and prophylaxis if they trod on the flood,” Duldoco said. (PNA)/PN
