KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 01 December) — Health personnel sustained the alert against the deadly dengue fever here even as confirmed cases have continued to decrease.
Dr. Jean Genevieve Aturdido, City Health Officer, said Friday that as of the second week of November, dengue cases within the city’s 27 barangays has reached a total of 504, down by about 38 percent compared to the 785 cases recorded during the same period last year.
Aturdido said they recorded two fatalities this year, down from three in 2017. SHe said one case each was recorded in barangays San Roque and Sto. Nino, due to complications caused by the disease.
Barangay General Paulino Santos posted the most number of cases with 71, followed by Sta. Cruz with 51 and Zone III-Poblacion with 44.
Aturdido attributed the decrease in dengue cases to the heightened awareness among residents regarding the mosquito-borne disease.
But she advised residents to remain vigilant against the disease due to the unpredictable weather condition in the area.
Citing their records, she said there were monitored cases of dengue in parts of the city in the entire year and the disease doesn’t only come out during the rainy season.
“As long as there are wet areas or stagnant water that mosquitoes can breed, the risk for dengue is there,” she said in a report.
Aturdido urged residents, in coordination with barangay officials, to continue with the regular clean-up of possible breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
She reiterated the Department of Health’s 4S strategy against dengue that focuses on “searching and destroying mosquito breeding places; securing self-protection; seeking early consultation; and supporting fogging and spraying in hotspot places.”
City health personnel had been making the rounds of local public and private schools to raise awareness on various measures against dengue among students, pupils and school personnel.(MindaNews)