Igbaras village put under ‘state of calamity’

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — A remote village in town of Igbaras, Iloilo has been placed under the state of calamity due to outbreak of chikungunya, a water-borne disease transmitted by mosquitoes.

The Barangay Jovellar Council approved a resolution on August 16, declaring the village under a state of calamity, after recording 210 suspected chikungunya cases since last month.

Igbaras town Mayor Vicente Escorpion said the Barangay Council already endorsed the resolution to the Municipal Council for review and approval.

Once approved, the village could already use its five-percent calamity fund to buy the needed medicines for affected individuals, said Escorpion.

The mayor said the report he gathered from the Municipal Health Office showed that 96 of 420 households in the barangay were already affected by the disease. “They all manifested signs of chikungunya-like fever, rashes and joint pains,” he said.

The Provincial Health Office has already taken blood samples from the suspected patients and they are now waiting for the results of the laboratory test undertaken by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine in Manila.

Meanwhile, the mayor has already instructed the barangay council of Brgy. Jovellar to conduct clean-up operations to those areas identified to be the breeding area of mosquitoes and maintain cleanliness of their surroundings.

Before Igbaras, the PHO has reported chikungunya cases in the towns of Carles, Tigbauan, Guimbal and Oton. Last year, the first Chikungunya case was recorded in Calinog town.  (FREEMAN)