ILOILO – The provincial government is set to declare a province-wide dengue outbreak due to a significant increase in dengue cases.
From January 1 to August 3, 2024, the province has recorded a total of 3,608 dengue cases, which includes six fatalities.
Notably, in just the week of July 28 to August 3, there were 661 new cases reported, said Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, head of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), stressing the urgency of the situation.
On August 8, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. convened a Provincial Civil Defense Cluster Meeting with department heads to discuss necessary measures to address the continual rise in dengue cases.
Thirty-six out of 43 municipalities, including Passi City, have surpassed the alert and epidemic thresholds.
The alert threshold serves as an early warning for potential epidemics, while the epidemic threshold indicates a disease occurrence level that requires an urgent response.
“Based on the data from our Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU), 36 municipalities have breached both the epidemic and alert thresholds. We are planning to declare an outbreak, which necessitates submitting a report to the Department of Health to officially declare a province-wide outbreak,” said Quiñon.
Regarding the declaration of a state of calamity, Dr. Quiñon clarified that the IPHO does not determine such declarations as they require the approval of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Memorandum Order No. 60, here are the criteria for the declaration of a state of calamity:
* at least 15 percent of the forecasted affected population based on science-based projections needs emergency assistance;
* at least 30 percent of the means of livelihood in the agricultural, business and industrial sectors are affected;
* damage to critical and lifeline infrastructure/facilities such as major roads and bridges, power stations, potable water supply systems, and telecommunication facilities;
* widespread destruction of fishponds, crops, poultry and livestock
* disruption of lifelines such as food chains, electricity, potable water systems, other transport systems, communication systems, access to health service, and other related systems that cannot be restored within one week, or in the case of highly urbanized areas where restoration of the above lifelines cannot be done within twenty-four hours; and
* significant degradation of the environment and natural resources based on the recommendations of government agencies.
With the spike in dengue cases, the IPHO has summoned the Municipal Health Officers (MHOs) and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMOs) of the 43 local government units to discuss and plan effective dengue management strategies.
Dr. Quiñon emphasized the need for a collaborative approach: “Let us all help each other. It’s not just the health sector’s responsibility to control dengue; we need the involvement of the entire municipality, the province, and the whole society,” she said./PN
