Navotas City reports 19% drop in dengue cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Navotas City government has reported a continued decline in dengue cases for the first five months of the year.

The City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit said in a statement that dengue cases from January to May this year dropped 19 percent compared to the figures in same period in 2012.

City officials said the decline was due to the intensive anti-dengue campaign of the local government.

“The cooperation of the residents in the programs of the local government to maintain a clean environment contributed significantly to this decline in dengue cases,” Navotas Mayor John Reynald Tiangco said in a statement.

He noted that the city government has been holding cleanup activities in every barangay twice a month. The city government also regularly provides anti-dengue spraying programs for communities and free regular seminars discussing dengue and ways to avoid the disease.

Earlier this year, the city government also reported a 54% decrease in dengue cases for the whole 2012, compared to the same period in 2011.

This meant that from 664 confirmed dengue cases in the city in 2011, the number of dengue cases dropped to 359 in 2012.

The city government launched its anti-dengue campaign in 2011 to prevent the spread of the disease.