Dengue claims Labangon boy

CEBU, Philippines – A five-year-old boy in sitio Bonbonan, barangay Labangon succumbed last week to complications brought about by the dreaded dengue hemorrhagic fever. He is the seventh casualty for this year.

Despite this, the number of casualties during the first three months of this year is still much lower compared to the 22 casualties that were reported to the Cebu City Health Department during the same period last year. And that only 243 dengue cases were reported to the city health department from January to March this year as compared to 460 during the first three months in 2008.

While Labangon is reported to have occupied just second spot on the list of city barangays with the highest number of dengue cases, it has the highest number of dengue-related deaths with two casualties since January.

The other casualties came from barangays Lorega-San Miguel, Guadalupe, and Camputhaw; and the mountain barangays of Binaliw and Sudlon II.

Durinda Macasocol, the assistant chief of the City Epidemiology Statistics and Surveillance Unit, advised the public to bring patients immediately to the nearest hospital or health centers whenever they may experience severe or recurring fever.

She also reiterated that the best way to combat dengue is to maintain clean surroundings by destroying possible breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes such as places with stagnant water, and by emptying out water-filled receptacles like cans and bottles, flower vases, and even old tires where mosquitoes lay their eggs. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)