DOH Assistant Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco said in an interview Wednesday that the report is alarming since there could be more deaths from May to December.
“Last year we only had five deaths and this year we already have
13 deaths. That is 160 percent higher.”
From January to April, the region recorded 1,066 cases with one-year-old
as the youngest and 82 years old as the oldest patient. The number of persons
who got dengue was lesser during the same period last year, but the DOH
official has no record for comparison during the interview.
Most cases were noted in the provinces of Leyte and Northern Samar
and in the cities of Ormoc, Calbayog, and Tacloban.
DOH regional epidemiology and surveillance unit head Roderick Boyd
Cerro said more victims died during the first four months of the year due to
lower cases in 2017.
“When there’s no dengue outbreak in a community, people are
complacent and they don’t seek early consultation even if they are already
suffering dengue symptoms,” Cerro said.
Sydiongco said the major strategy to combat dengue is to conduct
dengue prevention campaign with the Department of Education, parents, and
community leaders. This is on top of providing logistics to local health
workers.
Other strategies of the health department to combat rising cases
are intensified mosquito control efforts, coordinate with local government
units in information drive, conduct fogging and spreading larvicide in areas
with clustering of cases, install dengue express lanes in hospitals, purchase
and preposition of fluids.
Dengue fever is marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe
headache, and pain behind the eyes, muscles and joints. Some may develop rashes
and varying degree of bleeding from various parts of the body./(SQM/With reports from Shiela
Lebato, OJT/PNA)
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