By Dave Albarado/PNA
TAGBILARAN CITY — Dengue cases in Bohol spiked by 125 percent this year, the Department of Health (DOH) 7 (Central Visayas) reported on Friday.
Some 2,057 dengue cases with 37 fatalities were recorded in the province from January to November 2018, which is 125 percent higher than the 917 cases with eight deaths logged in the same period last year, according to the DOH’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU).
Based on the 2018 records of the RESU, nearly 22 percent of the dengue patients belonged to the 16 to 22 age bracket.
Most of the dengue cases this year were recorded in Tagbilaran City with 271 cases, and in Dauis town with 189 cases, the RESU report showed.
Heeding the DOH’s advice, Dauis Mayor Miriam Sumaylo on Friday declared an outbreak due to the rising number of dengue cases in the municipality.
With the declaration of an outbreak, misting operations in Dauis’ 12 barangays will be conducted at least once a week for the next four weeks, to be followed by mosquito search and destroy activities, Sumaylo said.
Governor Edgar Chatto, with the support of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, ordered the staging of synchronized barangay assemblies in Bohol’s 1,109 barangays on November 17.
In a memorandum released to the media, also on Friday, the governor said the assemblies will tackle the alarming dengue problem in Bohol, as well as measures to combat the threat, such as the dissemination of the DOH’s 4S program.
The DOH 4S anti-dengue strategy consists of Searching and Destroying mosquito breeding places, Securing self-protection, Seeking early consultation, and Supporting fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas to prevent any impending outbreak.
Health officials earlier urged local government units to conduct clean-up drives, activate their barangay dengue task forces, and enforce the DOH 4S program.
