CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda wants barangay captains to start cleaning their respective villages after the declaration of a national dengue alert on selected regions.
Pineda said barangay officials should lead the campaign in cleaning up their communities and leave mosquitoes no place to lay their eggs, thus preventing the spread of the dreaded dengue disease.
“There is a dengue outbreak in other regions. Fortunately, in Pampanga, there is no outbreak yet. That is why I am appealing to our barangay officials to prioritize clean up drives in their communities because this is the primary step we can take to prevent cases of dengue from rising,” Pineda said.
The governor said barangay officials can utilize the 70 percent Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (LDRRM) fund for the prevention and mitigation of hazards and potential disasters like the dengue outbreak.
Based on the surveillance report of the Provincial Health Office (PHO) as of July 20 this year, there are 1,190 reported cases of dengue in the province.
This is 44 percent lower compared to the same period last year with 2,111 reported cases. Deaths due to dengue are also significantly lower. So far, we only have one death this year compared to 14 deaths last year. We hope that we can sustain this until the year ends,” PHO chief Dr. Marcelo Jaochico said.
But despite this trend, Jaochico reminded the public not to be complacent and instead strengthen surveillance at the barangay level.
“Our surveillance should be a teamwork. We at the PHO will continuously monitor dengue cases and give you reliable data while the community should be vigilant against the Aegis Aegypti mosquito larvae which carry the dengue virus,” the PHO chief said.
Jaochico said they have formed and trained personnel at the barangay who will act as members of the barangay dengue task force and who are capable of identifying if a certain area has high or low risk to dengue.
The PHO chief also reminded the public to do their part by practicing the enhanced 4S strategy including search and destroy, self-protection measures, spraying or fogging, and seek early consultation.
Meanwhile, Jaochico said there is dengue clustering in 13 barangays (two to three cases per week) and three barangays identified as hotspots, or those with four cases per week.
