Boy, 3, dies of dengue

CEBU, Philippines - A three-year-old boy from barangay Labangon became the 11th person to die of dengue in Cebu City since the start of the year after he died last Wednesday, days after he was bitten by dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

The boy’s doctors observed that the child’s condition was already serious when he was brought to the hospital last June 30 and it was already difficult for doctors to save his life.

Durinda Macasocol, assistant head of the City Epidemiology Statistics and Surveillance Unit is hoping that the public will immediately bring to a hospital or health centers any of their family members experiencing high fever.

This death also brings to three the number of dengue-related casualties in barangay Labangon alone.

Two other dengue-related casualties were from barangays Lorega-San Miguel while barangays Guadalupe, Camputhaw, Mambaling, Binaliw, Sudlon II and Talamban have one each.

Macasocol said while there are already 11 dengue-related casualties this year this is comparatively low compared to the 32 deaths for the same period last year.

The statistics also showed that the dengue cases from January to June 27 only reached to 416, much lower compared to 693 for the same period last year.

Even Mayor Tomas Osmeña has asked the public to quickly bring their patients to the nearest hospital or health centers whenever they experience severe fever to allow the doctors to check their platelet count.

The dengue patients should not worry about the expenses because they will not have to spend even a single centavo as the city will shoulder laboratory examination, medicines and blood if in case the patient needs a transfusion.

The barangay leaders are encouraged to always conduct dengue prevention programs in their areas by cleaning suspected breeding sites of mosquitoes, while the city health personnel will also conduct mist-spraying during weekends.

In some areas that are considered as breeding sites of mosquitoes, the city health personnel have installed billboards informing the public that they should take precautionary measures to prevent of being victimized by the dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Osmeña also ordered the city health department to intensify the conduct of programs to minimize, if not to totally stop, the spread of dengue which he describes as worse than cancer. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)