Be careful but no need to panic — Cebu Provincial Health Office

THE Cebu Provincial Health Office (PHO) assured that there was no cause for alarm or panic over Monday’s declaration of a province-wide dengue outbreak.

According to PHO head, Dr. Rene Catan, the Provincial Board declaration should instead be viewed as a call for people to intensify their anti-dengue drive and for local government units to mobilize precautionary measures against the deadly disease. Catan’s comments came in the heels of reports that the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) would not consider the number of cases in the province as reaching outbreak proportions.

The declaration, Catan said, was aimed to raise public awareness about the seriousness of the situation, explaining that as far as the Provincial Capitol was concerned, their own figures were enough to declare a dengue outbreak.

“Siguro sa tan-aw nila nga dili pa na sigo nga mo-declare og outbreak because they’re looking at it from the point of view from the region, but as far as the province is concerned, it is an outbreak,” Catan said.

Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura echoed the sentiment of Catan as he considers the declaration an eye-opener for the province’s constituents.

“For me, as mayor, I think it was the right thing to do not because we want to cause alarm but so that people will take the necessary precautions to avoid the spread of dengue,” Apura told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.

However, Apura expressed apprehensions about Carcar City being listed as one of the top ten places in Cebu province with the highest number of dengue incidences this year.

“I asked the health officers why are the numbers recorded very high? Is that true? But they said that the figures are not that high because some of the cases did not turn out to be dengue as per report. So I think the figures are actually lower,” Apura said.

As part of Carcar City’s anti-dengue campaign, periodic fogging operations and an information awareness campaign are being conducted, the mayor said.

Parents are also urged to keep their areas clean and their children away from the breeding places of mosquitoes.

Carcar City is number 8 in a list of cities and towns in Central Visayas with the highest number of dengue cases as recorded by the Regional Epidemiological and Surveillance Unit (Resu-7).

Resu-7 reported 435 dengue cases in Carcar with zero deaths from January to October 8 this year.

Aside from Carcar, the top ten cities and towns in the region with the highest number of dengue cases this year according to Resu-7 are the following: Cebu City (2,256), Mandaue City (738), Lapu-Lapu City (645), Toledo City (602), Dumaguete City (579) Balamban (533), Bais City (516), Carcar City (435), Talisay City (363) and Liloan (353).