Provincial Health Office calls on barangays to activate dengue brigades

Old tires are convenient nesting sites of mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus. CDN FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Provincial Health Office (PHO) is urging barangays to activate their dengue brigades to prevent the spreading of the disease in Cebu.

Dr. Shiela Faciol, head of the PHO’s Public Health Operations, said the villages must be proactive in their education campaigns among their constituents to prevent the incidence of dengue.

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Despite the national declaration of dengue alert by the Department of Health (DOH), Faciol said their data reveals a decrease in the number of dengue cases for the province.

According to the January to July 28, 2019 data of the PHO, a total of 3,380 dengue cases with 17 deaths were reported in Cebu. This is lower than the 5, 375 cases with 26 deaths for the same period in 2018.

Danao City in northern Cebu logged the highest number of dengue incidence out of the 49 municipalities belonging to the province.

Danao City recorded 254 dengue cases from January to July 2018.

Faciol said the decrease in the number of dengue cases may be brought about by the fact that people are now more aware that they need to clean and destroy the breeding sites of mosquitoes.

‘We recommend for the local government units to have information campaign on dengue particularly on the importance of eliminating the breeding sites,” said.

If all villages will activate their dengue brigades, Facial said clean-up campaigns and case reportings will also be more efficient.

Facial said budget constraints should not be made an excuse for not activating the barangay dengue brigades since clean-up drives among residents in the community would not require the barangay to pay those who will participate. / celr