KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/25 May) – As the rainy season approaches, two children of a poor family in a squatters’ area died of dengue, making the disease one the major health risks here, a health official said.
Dr. Ted Calica, deputy chief of the City Health Office (CHO), said that Eulyn Giron, 11, was buried on Monday. Two days later, her 15-year-old sister Genevieve also succumbed to dengue.
On Thursday, their one-year-old brother was rushed to a clinic due to colds. But their father, James Giron, said it was not clear if his youngest child is sick of the same disease. “I hope he’s not. I’m praying he’s not sick of dengue,” James said in the vernacular.
Two weeks ago, Christian Jure, 15, friend of Eulyn and Genevieve, got sick of dengue. But he survived after he was treated at a hospital here.
Jure said that before he got the disease he frequented the Girons’ house.
Jeoffrey Enok, a neighbor of the Girons, hinted the dengue-causing mosquito that caused the deaths of Eulyn and Genevieve could have come from an open pipe located near a septic tank outside the victim’s house.
Because of the danger posed by the pipe, residents of the Lapadral relocation site at Barangay Magsaysay sought help from the CHO.
Around noon of Thursday, Calica, together with some of his staff, visited the Girons to conduct assessment and evaluation of the case.
Dengue, transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito, remains a major health threat, according to Calica.
The disease affects infants, young children, and adults. Symptoms range from mild to high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue, study showed.
Data from the Center for Health Development of the Department of Health (DoH) in Region 12 showed that North Cotabato registered the highest number of dengue cases in the region from January to March this year. Of the 452 cases in Region 12, the province of North Cotabato has 137.
Calica reminded the public to adopt the DoH’s 4S strategy in combating dengue – search and destroy breeding places of dengue mosquito vectors, seek early consultation, adopt self-protection measures like the use of insect repellent lotion, and say no to indiscriminate fogging. (Malu Cadeliña Manar / MindaNews)