DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/24 Oct) – Dengue cases in the Davao region dropped by 54% from January 1 to September 30 this year with 3,068 cases and 11 deaths recorded compared with last year’s 6,715 cases and 38 deaths, the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 11 said.
Most of the cases were recorded in Davao City, at 1,253, followed by Davao Oriental’s 893, Compostela Valley’s 516, Davao del Norte’s 216 and Davao del Sur’s 190.
Of these cases, 1,546 were males and 1,522 were females, according to records from the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the DOH 11.
Engr. Antonette Ebol, program manager of dengue/malaria center and other vector-borne diseases of the Department of Health (DOH) 11 told the Hermes Club at the Waterfront Insular Hotel last Friday that the decrease in dengue cases could be attributed to the active participation of the local government units and residents.
She said DOH works hand-in-hand with the LGUs in training their health workers and implementing the programs.
Residents, she said, have been voluntarily subjecting any member of the family who shows symptoms of dengue for check-up.
Those who are infected with dengue exhibit symptoms such as high continuous fever lasting for two to seven days, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, body weakness, bleeding tendencies from nose and gums, persistent red spots on the face, extremities and trunks.
“The people now are very aware that they (bring) their children to the hospitals if they suspect they are infected with dengue,” she said.
Despite the decrease, a dengue outbreak which was later contained was recorded in Baganga, Davao
Oriental from July to August, 2015. The province recorded a slight increase of nine percent from 811 cases last year to 893 cases this year.
To control the outbreak, the DOH 11 immediately conducted a weekly fumigation for a month, soaking, and indoor residual spraying (IRS), a method of spraying the insides of dwellings with bio-friendly insecticide called K-otrine to kill the mosquitoes, lasting up to six months.
The IRS is a project of the World Health Organization (WHO) started in 2012.
The DOH has also distributed Olyset-treated curtains and ovicidal-larvicidal traps. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
