PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The Department of Health (DOH) will be holding the 8th ASEAN Dengue Day in Palawan as a nationwide advocacy event to increase public awareness and to call on all sectors to join forces in the fight against dengue.
Mario Baquilod, DOH Mimaropa Officer-In-Charge regional director, said in a letter, received by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday, that Puerto Princesa will be the host city for the event.
“The aim of this celebration is to raise awareness among the general public on the preventive measures and the burden of dengue,” he said.
To emphasize this, he said, this year’s observance theme is, “Kung Walang Lamok, Walang Dengue: Mag-4S Kontra Dengue.”
The 4s stand for search and destroy possible breeding areas in the surrounding; self-protection measures by using insect repellents and avoiding short skirts and other attires; seek early consultation by going to the doctor immediately after two days when rashes start to manifest on the skin; and say no to indiscriminate fogging, which means it should only be done when there is an outbreak.
Different activities, he said, have been lined up for specifically targeted individuals to highlight the theme, such as the forum on the dengue program implementation, a documentary film competition for school children, and the ASEAN Dengue Walk.
Last April, Romalyn Racho, DOH Mimaropa Health Education and Promotion Officer, said “with 129 cases of dengue recorded in the first quarter mostly in Puerto Princesa, Palawan remains to be the province in the entire region with high dengue prevalence.”
Racho attributed the trend to the failure of many communities and households to maintain cleanliness of their surroundings, allowing them to be breeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquitos. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
