BALANGA CITY — The Provincial Health Office (PHO) on Thursday announced that there were 771 cases of dengue with one death in Bataan on the 30th morbidity week from January to July 25, 2019.
“This is 30 percent lower than in the same period last year,” Dr. Rosanna Buccahan, PHO chief, said. There were 1,100 dengue cases for the same period in 2018.
Of the 237 barangays in 11 towns and one city, there were 16 villages with clustering, meaning, there were successive increases in cases for four weeks.
“May isang death noong July 22, isang 5-month-old infant boy sa Barangay Alangan, Limay. Nag-start kami makipag-coordinate sa kanilang municipality para mag-conduct ng malawakang search and destroy lalo na sa lugar kung saan merong namatay,” Buccahan said, adding that they also conducted fogging in the area to prevent other death from dengue.
She said that rigid implementation of “4S” that is being undertaken in the country contributed much to the low case of dengue in the province.
The first “S” is “search and destroy all breeding places,” followed by “say yes to fogging” if there is impending outbreak or continuous clustering and then “seek early consultation” if with fever for three days and “self-protection measures.”
“Maglinis ng kapaligiran dahil kung walang breeding site, walang lamok na kakagat para magkaroon ng dengue,” the doctor said.
Buccahan also said that the provincial government under Gov. Alberto Garcia recently launched the “One Bataan Healthy Barangay” to control dengue, drugs and death from dog bites.
“Ang 237 barangays ay dapat na zero ang kanilang dengue death at nagre-reduce ang kanilang dengue cases,” she said.
There is a corresponding cash reward for each barangay.
“Kung mapapanatili lang nila na malinis ang kanilang barangay na walang breeding site at regularly mag-4S, hindi tayo magwo-worry na tataas ang kaso sa Bataan,” Buccahan added.
Government hospital Bataan General Hospital in Balanga City has a Dengue Fast Lane.
Annalyn Torres, BGH nurse, said that most of their admissions in dengue came from Mariveles and some from Samal, Orion and Pilar towns but that the number did not exceed 10 cases for a day.
“Kapag dumating ang pasyente sa dengue diretso sa loob,” she said.
