COTABATO
CITY – North
Cotabato health officials are on the lookout for the early detection of dengue
amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis as the province has logged
more than 400 cases since January.
This
came as North Cotabato Governor Nancy A. Catamco directed provincial health
providers to closely monitor areas in the province with a high incidence of
dengue.
“Fighting
Covid-19 is equally as important as fighting dengue,” Catamco said in a
directive issued on Tuesday, June 16.
Responding
to Catamco’s marching orders, the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO)
has called for active community support in its intensified drive against dengue
following the onset of the rainy season.
Provincial
Board Member Philbert Malaluan, a medical doctor, said from January to June 15
this year, the IPHO and Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU)
have listed 407 cases of dengue with three deaths coming from the
municipalities of Makilala and M’lang.
Malaluan,
the chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s (Provincial Board) committee
on health and sanitation, said although the cases of dengue in the province
have not reached the epidemic threshold, the provincial government is applying
precautionary measures to suppress the spread of the deadly mosquito-borne
disease.
He
also said that dengue and Covid-19 are difficult to distinguish because they
both share the same clinical laboratory features.
“However,
unlike Covid-19, (the) dengue virus cannot be transmitted through human contact
but through mosquito bites of (the) 'Aedes aegypti' mosquitoes,” Malaluan said.
He
noted that dengue mosquitos usually breed around human dwellings and prefer to
lay eggs in clean and stagnant water, such as on roof gutters and old rubber
tires.
Based
on the data of PESU, the municipality of Matalam recorded the highest cases of
dengue with 42 cases, followed by Libungan and Kidapawan City with 40 cases
each.
Dr.
Eva C. Rabaya, North Cotabato IPHO head, said her office is continuously
intensifying its information drive against dengue through “rekoridas” (mobile
public address systems), social media, and community seminars on the enhanced
4S Strategy, which stands for search and destroy, seek early consultation,
self-protection measures, and saying ‘yes’ to fogging only during outbreaks.
“As
of now, the IPHO and PESU do not only focus on preventing the spread of (the)
Covid-19 pandemic but we are also monitoring the rise of dengue cases here in
the province that (has) affected thousands of individuals last year,” Rabaya
said.
Last
year, health workers reported a surge in dengue cases in the province prompting
the Provincial Board to declare North Cotabato under a state of calamity.
Catamco
has authorized the use of the quick response fund in purchasing fogging
equipment and other materials needed in addressing dengue cases in the
province.
Alerted
of the current high incidence of dengue, she also urged all Cotabateños to
practice the 4-S campaign against dengue and seek early consultation,
especially when experiencing recurring fever that cannot be treated by ordinary
medication for pain and fever.
“Everyone
must be prime movers in controlling dengue to avoid any possible deaths within
the community as we are still on our journey of fighting the Covid-19
pandemic,” Catamco said. (EDWIN FERNANDEZ, PNA, MINDANAO EXPOSE')
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