INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
THERE were fewer deaths caused by dengue and fewer dengue cases in the province last month compared to the same period last year.
Nurse Cyril Kay Pangantungan of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) said there were five deaths caused by dengue and 451 dengue cases last month.
This is lower than the 11 deaths and 722 dengue cases in January last year.
One of the dengue deaths last month reportedly occurred in the southern town of Dumanjug while the rest occurred in Consolacion, northern Cebu.
Pangantungan, PHO’s dengue case coordinator, said most of the victims were children.
She credited the lower figure to greater awareness of the disease due to their campaign and cleanup drive.
Pangantungan said their standard measures include removing mosquito-breeding places through fogging and cleaning.
She said the rainy weather also helped in lowering the number of dengue cases. “The rain prevents mosquitoes from breeding just anywhere specifically in areas where there is stagnant water,” she said.
Pangantungan said residents should clean their surroundings of stagnant water and other pollutants.
She said sanitary inspectors should always be monitoring their communities for any presence of stagnant water.