12 Cebu areas top CV list with dengue cases, deaths
DOH-7 to roll out dengue rapid test kits to health centers
With Cebu City and 11 other cities and towns in Cebu province dubiously contributing to Central Visayas’ ranking as the No. 4 dengue hotspot in the country, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) is planning to distribute dengue rapid test kits to health centers in the barangays as part of its measures to address the dengue scourge.
“Mas ganahan ta ug early detection kay nag-advocate ta ug seek early consultation. Early stages ma-diagnose aron matambalan dayon ang pasyente (We prefer early detection because it is in our advocacy to seek early consultation. Early stages can be diagnosed so that they can be treated),” said Dr. Ronald Jarvik Buscato, DOH-7 dengue health program coordinator, in an interview yesterday.
Buscato said that they planned to release these kits to the health centers in September or October or when the Central Office would give the go-signal.
He said that targeting the health centers for their dengue testing kits would do away with the need for barangay residents experiencing fever for two to three days to go to hospitals to undergo confirmatory tests.
Buscato said that region’s ranking had not been in the outbreak level considering the number of dengue cases in the DOH’s midyear census.
But with the rising trend of cases every month, he said that they are at the point where they have to intensify their programs against dengue.
As of Aug. 13 data of DOH-7, there have been already 9,372 cases and 81 deaths recorded in the region for both suspected and confirmed cases.
Cebu City No. 1
Cebu City is No. 1 in the top 20 list of cities and towns with the most cases of dengue and dengue deaths in Central Visayas with 1,328 cases and seven deaths. It is followed by Mandaue City with 424 and 9 deaths; Toledo City with 369 cases and two deaths is third; Lapu-Lapu City with 283 cases and 5 deaths is fourth; and Balamban with 280 cases and one death (See table on page 5.)
According to the Dengue Current Situation Report of the DOH-7, the number of cases for this period is 151 percent higher compared to the same period last year which had 3,740 cases and 19 deaths.
Buscato said the factors that contributed to the increase in dengue cases included the proliferation of dengue virus, dengue vectors which is the dengue mosquito, and the keenness of physicians to diagnose patients with fever for two to three days to be a dengue case.
“Among instructions or advice is to always consider ruling in dengue since endemic man siya sa Region 7 (Our instructions or advice is to always consider ruling in dengue since it is endemic in Region 7),” he said.
The health department is also reminding the public to observe environmental sanitation especially in their houses as a way to prevent contracting dengue.
“Manglipmyo sa atong palibot. Ang pwede mapondohan ug tubig, ibali gyud nato aron dili ma-itlogan ug lamok (We should clean our surroundings. We have to clean areas where water may be stocked. It should be cleaned so that mosquitoes won’t breed in it),” Buscato said.
Meanwhile, Region 7 will not yet receive the promised anti-dengue vaccines this year.
Buscato said they were advised that their DOH Central office needs to complete administering the three doses of the anti-dengue vaccine to the Grade 9 children in National Capital Region (NCR), Region IVA and Region 3 to observe its effectivity before rolling out the second batch to Region 7 and other regions.
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