• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The City Health Office said Aug. 26 that it logged the fifth dengue fatality this year – a four-year-old boy from Barangay Villamonte – who died in the hospital Aug. 15.
The child suffered from on-and-off fever, associated with abdominal pain and vomiting, and was admitted Aug. 14 but died due to dengue shock syndrome the following day, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said.
Tan added that, as of Aug. 16, there were 743 dengue cases logged, with five deaths, or 12.9 percent lower than the 853 cases with three deaths recorded in the same period last year.
Of this year’s cases, 305 were aged one to 10 years old, with three of the five fatalities also children, CHO records showed.
Barangay Mansilingan logged the highest cases of dengue at 78, followed by Taculing, 61, and Tangub, 48.
Dengue is a viral infection that is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti, health officials said. Most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash.
The CHO has been urging the community to regularly practice the 4S in dengue prevention and control, including searching and destroying mosquito breeding sites, seeking early consultation, ensuring self-protection by wearing long sleeves pants, and supporting fogging or spraying in areas with clustering of cases.
Dengue is a community concern, and the CHO has been appealing to barangays to revive the 4 o’clock habit of cleaning the surroundings, especially with the rainy season.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government also recently directed local government units to intensify health protection measures this rainy season as communities face heightened risks of water-borne illnesses, influenza-like illnesses, leptospirosis, and dengue, or diseases that, it said, historically surge during the wet months. | CGC
