DAVAO CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) said on Thursday that the number of dengue cases “have suddenly decreased” this year as compared to last year.
Elizabeth Banzon, the chief of the Tropical Disease Control of CHO, said that they have already conducted several interventions even before the recent Brigada Eskwela started.
“We’ve already made different interventions such as clean-up drives and campaigns on public schools here in the city especially in places such as Talomo, Toril and Calinan District to prevent dengue from spreading and infecting those who have participated in the Brigada Eskwela,” she said.
The total number of dengue cases that were reported as of June “is only 1,140, compared to 1,960 cases last year”.
On January this year, there were 427 dengue cases reported, compared to 595 cases last year. On February, there were 283 cases compared to the 440 cases reported last year, while on March, there were 178 cases compared to the same month last year of 255.
On April, there were 155 cases reported compared to 243 cases last year, and on May this year, there were only 97 cases compared to 427 cases last year.
The CHO attributed the decrease to the tri-media information as well as the participation of the citizens.
“I thank the media for continuously campaigning our programs and informing all of our citizens on ways to prevent dengue,” she said.
“I also appreciate the barangay officials who are diligently inspecting their respective barangays of possible breeding grounds and creating a dengue task force to really lessen dengue cases,” she added.
Banzon said that they have also implemented the so-called “4 o’ clock habit” with this year’s theme, “Stop, Look and Listen” which resembles a traffic light.
“This routine really looks like a traffic light wherein we stop every 4pm,look for possible breeding grounds of dengue and destroy them and lastly, listen [to] advisories on television and radio, which we have implemented on all places in the city,” she said.
Banzon said that there will be a national event to be conducted by the Department of Health (DOH) and will be attended by different national and provincial health directors, which primarily aims to intensify awareness of dengue in the country.
The event will be held on June 15 at the Almendras Gym. The program dubbed, “Unity and Harmony within ASEAN communities, The Key to Fight Dengue”, will start at 10 in the morning, Banzon said. (davaotoday.com)
