BAGUIO CITY – The City Health Services Office raised the alarm over dengue fever as another health concern with the onset of the dry season.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan and City Health Officer Dr. Rowena Galpo urged the public to observe anti-dengue measures particularly those contained in city’s Ordinance No. 66 series of 2016 or the “Anti-Dengue Ordinance of the City of Baguio” and the Dept. of Health’s ”Mag 4S Kontra Dengue (4 S: Search and destroy breeding places; Self-protection measures; Seek early consultation; Support spraying to prevent impending diseases).”
“If you are experiencing fever for two days, please have yourself checked at the nearest health center because early detection is necessary to prevent worse symptoms or even death,” Galpo said.
City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) Head and Dengue Program Coordinator Dr. Donnabel Tubera confirmed that cases have started to increase in the city as she warned that 2019 may be an “outbreak year” for the disease based on the three-year affliction cycle established as per previous data.
“Moreover, with the prevailing El Nino, we have less water supply and the tendency is that people would store water in containers that serve as breeding sites for mosquitoes,” Tubera explained.
Tubera said that as the cycle goes, dengue cases are expected to increase in June and July, peak in August and taper off in September and October towards the cold and dry months.
Dengue is spread mostly through bites form either the female aedes aegypti, aedes albopictus and other mosquito species.
The symptoms after an incubation period which may last for seven days are fever, headache behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains and skin rash. There may be nausea, vomiting and bleeding from body openings. Dengue may also cause organ dysfunction, and if untreated, death.
The city’s anti-dengue ordinance mandates the adoption of the following measures:
For households and business owners, they will be required to properly and tightly cover all water containers such as water drums, pails, and water gallons at all times; properly collect, store, dispose or recycle if possible, all unused tin cans, jars, bottles including covers or caps, pots and the like; check and drain water in all plant vases and pots, open bamboo poles or pipe posts, coconut shells, other natural or artificial containers that may accumulate water as these are potential breeding places of mosquitoes; properly dispose broken appliances and other bulky materials which may accumulate rain water; puncture or cut else properly dispose all old or discarded tires; conduct search and destroy activities inside and outside the buildings/homes by doing proper solid waste management, elimination of breeding sites; seek early consultation when experiencing fever of at least two days;
To wear protective clothing and apply mosquito repellant during the day; maintain all gutters of roof free from stagnant rain water; ensure that uninhabited buildings/structures must be free from all kinds of waste; ensure that buildings/structures under construction or repair must not accumulate stagnant water and solid wastes; treat abandoned swimming pools, water fountains, ponds, and the like with larvicides or other means of controlling vectors as allowed by the Health Services Office; and mix salt water or used oil with the stagnant water particularly in areas which are difficult to clean or areas which frequently accumulates stagnant rain water.
Residents and businesses are also required to secure clearance from the HSO prior to the use of chemicals for use of killing mosquitoes; to only allow accredited pest control operators to render services with the jurisdiction of the city; to report to hospitals or the nearest health center if any member of a family has any of the symptoms of dengue; implement other preventive and control measures that the DOH or the HSO may provide and introduce in the future; and to inform water authorities of broken water pipelines.
Public and private schools and universities will conduct dengue prevention and control activities inside the school and university every day at 9:00 a.m.; advise staff and students to wear long pants and sleeves during school days, and school physicians or nurses to conduct fever surveillance and refer accordingly.
Hospitals are required to provide fast lanes for suspected dengue cases while church organizations should assist the HSO and the media in disseminating dengue prevention and control activities such as ringing of church bells daily at 9:00 a.m. for the community wide search and destroy activities and to encourage parishioners to conduct different dengue prevention and control activities.
Government and private workplaces meanwhile should be updated of the latest dengue situation in the city; conduct search and destroy activities everyday 9:00 a.m. in their respective offices; seek early consultation when experiencing fever of at least two days; wear protective clothing and apply mosquito repellant during the day.
Those who not comply will be penalized by rendering community services and paying fines ranging fromP1,000 to P3,000. ** Aileen P. Refuerzo
