Dengue state of calamity recommended in Iloilo

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Due to a surge in dengue fever cases in Iloilo, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council wants the entire province placed under a state of calamity.

Cornelio Salinas, Iloilo disaster risk reduction and management chief, said the number of dengue cases has gone beyond the epidemic threshold.

As of Aug. 15, the province had logged 4,595 cases and 10 deaths.

Salinas said a resolution would be submitted to Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., who is expected to make a recommendation to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

In the meantime, Defensor ordered local government units to heighten their responses to the dengue outbreak.

Earlier this week, Passi City and the towns of Tigbauan and Miag-ao declared a state of calamity after logging a rise in the number of dengue cases in their localities.

In Bohol, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) logged 4,484 cases with 13 deaths as of Aug. 15.

Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez of the PHO said in a press conference yesterday that the number “is 361.8 percent higher compared to the same period last year with 971 cases and two deaths.”

Lopez cited a Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit report, which identified the top 10 localities with dengue cases: Inabanga with 517 cases; Tagbilaran City, 411; Ubay, 223; Getafe, 201; Talibon, 193; Buenavista, 167; Tubigon, 167; Jagna, 143; Panglao, 133, and Dauis, 130.

He urged residents to immediately consult a doctor if they suspect they have dengue and to continue with the strategies to prevent dengue infection.

Barangay health workers, Lopez said, are tasked to conduct “fever monitoring” to help prevent dehydration among patients.

In Negros Occidental, Provincial Health Officer Girlie Pinongan said dengue cases in the province further increased by 94 percent with six deaths as of Aug. 10.

Pinongan said they are planning to teach health workers to treat dengue patients at their level as a way to decongest hospitals, noting that hospitals and rural health units in the province are now operating at full capacity.

She added that fast lanes have been opened in all government district hospitals to attend to all dengue patients. – Ric Obedencio, Gilbert Bayoran