QC residents urged to get tested as dengue cases spike

MANILA, Philippines – Quezon City has logged 1,280 dengue cases from January to July, which is a 129.80 percent increase from the same period last year, according to their City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU).

CESU also recorded seven dengue-related deaths in the city within that period.

“We are seeing a rise in cases in our city, not just of COVID but also of dengue so we are encouraging our residents to get tested so they can seek consultation and start treatment early,” said Quezon City Mayor Belmonte in a press release on Monday.

In the same press release, City Health Department Officer-in-Charge Dr. Esperanza Arias said that those experiencing a sudden fever within two to five days should get tested for both dengue and COVID-19 since they share similar symptoms.

Additional dengue symptoms include severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, and skin rash, according to the Department of Health’s (DOH) health advisory on dengue.

To curb the dengue spike, the Quezon City government is implementing “search and destroy” operations for dengue mosquito breeding places, on top of clean-up drives, according to the press release.

The city government outlined other preventive measures residents can take, such as dismantling possible mosquito-breeding sites in their areas, wearing protective clothing such as long sleeves shirts and pants, and using mosquito repellant daily.

“Prevention is better than cure. We cannot address this alone and we highly encourage our residents to take part in helping the community, in their own way, to prevent the rising cases of dengue,” said Belmonte.

This call for testing comes after DOH announced a nationwide total of 92,343 dengue cases as of July 23, which is a 118 percent increase from last year.

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