By Ma. Teresa Montemayor/PNA
MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon) has intensified its anti-dengue campaign to bring down the cases of said disease in the region.
In a statement on Saturday, DOH Calabarzon regional director Eduardo Janairo said local government units are monitoring the increase in dengue cases, adding that all logistics are in place should there be an outbreak.
“We have deployed regional vector control spray men to barangays with high incidence of dengue cases and also trained sanitary inspectors and spray men of Laguna and the top 10 municipalities or cities with dengue cases on the preparation and application of insecticides for Dengue control such as misting or fogging and residual spraying, for outbreak response,” Janairo said.
According to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), some 5,616 cases of dengue fever with 18 deaths in the region were recorded from January 1 to March 16, 2019.
The RESU added that Cavite has the highest number of dengue cases with 1,788 followed by Batangas with 1,248; Laguna with 1,135; Quezon with 823; and Rizal with 622 cases.
The ages of the cases ranged from 1 month to 100 years old while majority of them were males at 2,990 which translates to 53 percent of the total cases.
The top 10 cities and municipalities with the most number of dengue cases in Calabarzon include Dasmariñas with 339; Lipa City with 276; Bacoor with 261; Batangas City with 255; Calamba City with 239; Imus with 218; Lopez with 217; San Pablo City with 203; Tanauan City with 176; and General Trias with 171.
“We are already making rounds in the provinces to ensure that Dengue Fast Lanes are established and functional in all hospitals, and also to ensure that Dengue NS1-RDT are available to all health centers and public hospitals to be used for the early detection of dengue disease,” Janairo said.
The Dengue NS1-RDT is one of the tests used to classify dengue according to the severity of its signs and symptoms.
He also urged the public to practice the 4S-Strategy in all levels — search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, secure self-protection, seek early consultation and support fogging or spraying to prevent an impending outbreak.
