Bohol health authorities
sound alarm on dengue
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 27 (PIA) -- Provincial Health authorities here have sounded the alarm on dengue as a total of 2,481 cases were recorded in Bohol in the first six months of this year.
Cases recorded from January to June 13 are already at 37.83 percent higher over the data recorded in the same period last year, shared Bohol dengue campaign focal person Leonidas Saniel during the recent Kapihan sa PIA on dengue.
“Although we only have 13 deaths or .05 percent case fatality rate this year compared to the 17 death or .09 case fatality rate last year, the figure is very alarming,” Saniel said.
Dengue, which is a kind of fever that can be caused by mosquito bites especially those from aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus, has been a persisent health issue that local government units face.
Those with dengue often manifest it by high and recurring high fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, low back pain and possible skin rashes, health authorities said.
Dengue, which is also called dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), is a specific syndrome that tends to affect children, but disease reporting units in Bohol records an age range from two months old to 94 years old, according to Center for Health and Development Regional Surveillance Unit (RESU) 7.
Dengue complication causes abdominal pain, hemorrhaging and circulatory collapse which make it fatal in this stage, but this can happen long after a patient has been infected, according to research data.
As to how dengue cases rose despite the Bohol cascading its programs to the towns, barangays and puroks, Saniel shared that in their monitoring activities, still people miss the early consultation which is critical in fever that lasts over two days.
"You miss the early consultaion, you run the risk of bringing in a severy dehydrated and sometimes haemorrhaging patient," Saniel said.
Health authorities in the dengue campaign have put the emphasis on dengue prevention and called on residents to implement the enhanced strategies in their households: Search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; Employ self-protection measures such as wearing of long pants and long sleeved shirts, and use mosquito repellents; Seek early consultation for those with fever; Support fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks, to prevent an impending outbreak.
In a table shown by Saniel reflecting the RESU-7 disease reporting unit admissions and consultations in Bohol, it showed that Talibon topped in admissions and consultations but still they have four deaths.
The data did not tell if the admission happened in the early stage of the disease.
Dengue remains on the rise due to behavioral problems in the barangay, he said.
He also cited some people who surrendered to fate saying dengue cannot be beaten.
“People are still very lazy to do the 4S, and people just do not care if people help in the campaign or not, often missing medical help kay gapahilot lang (went for a massage),” Saniel said.
“Most of those who died came to the hospitals too late. Fever for a day or two, one must bring the patient to a health facility immediately,” he urged.
While authorities evaluating the program noticed that dengue campaign was left out by the COVID-19 campaign, Saniel urged local officials to integrate the dengue campaign with COVID-19 campaign "so we can put an end to this problem," said Saniel. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
4 CASES LESS. Although Bohol records 4 deaths less this time, from January to June compared to last year, Saniel, at the Kapihan sa PIA said one death is one too many already, knowing that no one is supposed to die of dengue now. (PIABohol)
IT CAN BE DONE, IT HAS BEEN TESTED. Bohol's dengue campaign focal person Leonidas Saniel said beating dengue can be done if people will cooperate. (PIA Bohol)
