Inday Sara appalled over dengue death toll
July 28, 2016 | 8:56pm
DAVAO CITY — Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio expressed concern over the rising number of deaths due to dengue fever.
The Davao City Health Office (CHO) has already listed some 4,002 patients admitted due to dengue fever since January 2016. Out of the total number, 19 of them were recorded dead.
The CHO data also showed that of the 19 deaths, at least 11 of them were children, with the oldest only 5 years old.
Duterte-Carpio, through the City Information Office (CIO) warned personnel responsible for the control of dengue cases here.
"I want to see a decrease from July to December, otherwise, there is a need to find new people for this job," she said.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main vector that transmits the viruses that cause dengue. The viruses are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female Aedes mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person.
In 2015, the CHO only recorded eight people who died of the same sickness.
"That the number of deaths could reach this high is definitely disconcerting and I am appalled because the government is supposed to be doing everything to prevent the breeding of the mosquitoes carrying the virus," the city mayor added.
She said dengue is preventable "if only efforts to prevent the spread were done and were done efficiently."
"I have ordered a review of how the local government is fighting dengue and other preventable diseases. The agencies involved the City Health Office. They should always be on their feet, always to err on the side of prevention and not on reaction."
CHO are to coordinate with barangay officials in the implementation of programs aimed at eliminating dengue.
"There is an urgent need to eliminate the mosquitoes carrying the virus and their breeding places if we want to end the spate of deaths," the mayor said.
CHO, on the other hand, has been utilizing their P1 million budget to prevent further spread of dengue.
The project, which they call the 4 o'clock habit, allows them to conduct barangay visits where residents are subject to get their curtains and bed nets treated with chemicals which can effectively ward off mosquitoes.
“The city provides the needed materials for the soaking of bed nets and curtains," CHO chief Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte said that records show a massive increase in dengue cases across the country, with over 57,000 cases since January.
"This only means that the entire country needs to be alert and must do our part in cleaning our environment and destroying the breeding areas of the mosquitoes,” she added.
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