Dengue cases in city manageable but public advised to be wary

Amid the spike of dengue infections in neighboring provinces, cases in Iloilo City remain manageable, according to the City Health Office (CHO).

But the authorities reminded the public not to be complacent.

Based on data from the CHO, Iloilo City logged 76 dengue cases with one fatality from Jan 1 to June 4, 2022. This is 32 percent lower than 104 cases recorded in the same period last year.

“Ang cases naton subong gamay lang, manageable lang. But kinahanglan ma-double time kita sa gihapon para indi magsaka ang cases,” Dr. Annabelle Tang, head of the CHO, said during the press conference on Monday, June 6.

The most affected age group are 1 to 10 years old with 34 cases; followed by 11 to 20 years old (21 cases); 21 to 30 years old (16 cases); and 41 to 50 years old (3 cases). The other age groups each logged one case.

Iloilo City also recorded clustering of cases in Brgy. Pale Benedicto in Mandurriao with five.

Meanwhile, the district of Mandurriao recorded the most number of cases at 21 followed by Jaro II (15); La Paz (13); City Proper (2); Arevalo & City Proper (7); Lapuz & Jaro I (5); and Molo with three cases.

Tang explained that the drop in dengue cases in the city can be attributed to the innovations and programs aimed at targeting dengue of the Iloilo City government.

According to Tang, the misting team of the city government went around the different barangays in the metro amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The city government has also assigned personnel to focus on dengue prevention.

“Makita naton ang pagnubo because sa mga innovations nga subong lang naton nakita sa subong nga adminsitrayson. Aton misting team galibot kag gabakal gid kita mga pesticide kag insecticide. Sige-sige aton mga programa maskin pandemic kag may mga tawo gid kita gin-assign para sa dengue,” she said.

Tang hopes that the said efforts will be enough to prevent the rise of dengue cases in the metro.

Nevertheless, she reminded the public to not be complacent and remain vigilant. She also reminded barangay officials in the metro to implement the 4S Strategy in their respective areas.

4S stands for “Search and destroy” mosquito-breeding sites, employ “Self-protection measures” (i.e. wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts, and daily use of mosquito repellent), “Seek early consultation”, and “Support fogging/spraying” only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak.

Dengue claims four lives in Antique

Meanwhile, the province of Antique logged four dengue casualties so far this year, amid the consistent spike in cases in the province.

Out of the four fatalities, the 𝖠𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗊𝗎𝖾 𝖯𝗋𝗈𝗏𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅 𝖣𝗂𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾 𝖲𝗎𝗋𝗏𝖾𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝗌𝗉𝗈𝗇𝗌𝖾 𝖴𝗇𝗂𝗍 reported that two were from Hamtic. The towns of Bugasong and Sibalom also recorded one fatality each.

Dengue cases in Antique also continue to spike.

From Jan 1 to June 4, the province posted 622 cases with four deaths.

The town of Sibalom registered the highest number of dengue cases at 156 followed by San Jose de Buenavista (148), Hamtic (75), Bugasong (65), Anini-y (43), San Remigio (30), and Patnogon (19).

Meanwhile, Tibiao logged 15 cases, followed by Tobias Fornier (14), Barbaza (13), Sebaste and Laua-an (11), Valderrama (10), Belison (7), Pandan (3), and Culasi (2).
Only the towns of Libertad and Caluya remain dengue-free.

Currently, the Antique Provincial Health Office (APHO) is closely monitoring towns and barangays that are considered high-risk or those with clustering of dengue cases to immediately provide control and prevention measures.

The provincial health office also reminded the public to not be complacent and continue in observing the 4S Strategy.

“Ang opisina kang ikaayong lawas dya sa probinsya nagapahanumdum nga indi magkampante. Sa kadya nga panahon nga sige pa ang pagsaka kang kaso, palihog mag-uligmat kag obrahon ang mga bagay nga nagakadapat. I-practice ang 4S Strategy,” the APHO said in a statement. (DG)