Health officials have raised the alarm on dengue as cases continue to rise in the city, particularly at the onset of the rainy season.
Kent Ventura, head of the City Health Office (CHO) Vector-Borne Unit, said they have recorded 954 cases from January to June 22, which is slightly higher compared to the same period last year.
Records from the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of the CHO show that the barangays with the highest active cases are Sta. Monica with 112 cases, San Jose with 110 cases, San Pedro with 99 cases, Sicsican with 75 cases, and Tiniguiban with 56 cases, all of which are urban barangays.
The rural barangay with the highest recorded case is Cabayugan with 22 cases.
However, Ventura expressed confidence that the cases are still manageable.
“What’s important is that the mortality this year is lower compared to last year,” Ventura told media during the Dengue Awareness Celebration on Monday.
While dengue cases are quite high, he said the information and education campaign played a vital role in raising awareness among the community about dengue, along with the Dengue Fastlane Consultation hub at the city coliseum.
The only problem they have encountered so far is the late consultation of patients who are showing symptoms of the disease.
“Our constant advise is for them to seek early consultation. 1-2 days of high fever, one should already seek consultation,” he said.
“We have a free consultation in our dengue fast lane. There is an available doctor from Monday to Friday so there’s no reason for us not to get tested,” he added.
CHO chief Dr. Ricardo Panganiban, meanwhile, encouraged residents to actively practice the health department’s anti-dengue campaign slogan dubbed 5S – Search and Destroy; Self-protect; Seek early consultation; Support fogging and misting in outbreak areas; and Sustain Hydration.
He mentioned that most of the campaign slogans are preventive measures that involve the roles of the community and households, except for management and diagnosis, which fall under the responsibility of health services.
“Preventive-wise, if you analyze those are activities to be done by the community, except the misting and fogging,” Panganiban said.
“That’s why everybody is encouraged to help and cooperate because if we don’t do this, the cases might still go higher,” he added.
Panganiban further explained that the Dengue Awareness Celebration is being held every month of June because it is also the start of the rainy season.
“We all know that when the rainy season starts, it is also the time that dengue cases rise. But the problem now is that even if it is not rainy, cases are still high,” he said.
