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Sept 3, 2010
MANILA – The dengue epidemic has affected more than 60,000 people this year, 465 of whom had died and the number is rising. Health Secretary Enrique Ona himself made the disclosure even as President Aquino directed the Department of Health to act on the worsening problem. The figures this year have surpassed the number affected by dengue last year which totalled only33,102 cases.
From January to August, Ona said there were 62,503 dengue cases reported most of these in the areas of Western and Eastern Visayas; Central, Southern and Northern Mindanao; CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) area; and Metro Manila particularly in Mandaluyong and Marikina.
Ona said that despite the alarming cases of dengue fever in several parts of the country, the DOH remains on top of the situation. He said that the DOH has launched an information drive in the national down to the barangay level in line with President Aquino’s instructions.
Ona pointed out that cleanliness is still the main preventive weapon against the disease. He urged the public to keep their surroundings clean and do away with stagnant water in vases, tires, bottles and gutters that serves as the breeding ground of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, carrier of the disease.
The DOH also advised the public to be constantly aware of the feeding time of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes which is two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset. During home treatments, Ona said patients afflicted with dengue should use mosquito nets to prevent passing on the disease to other people.
Due to prevention awareness, Ona said deaths from dengue are now less than one percent compared to the two percent recorded in the past years. From January to August, Ona said there were 62,503 dengue cases reported most of these in the areas of Western and Eastern Visayas; Central, Southern and Northern Mindanao; CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) area; and Metro Manila particularly in Mandaluyong and Marikina.
At present, Ona said the Philippines, together with other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to pool resources to conduct scientific research on how to effectively combat
the dengue disease.