Dengue alert raised in Albay province

RED FLAG Dengue cases have doubled in Albay province in the past five months, alarming health officials. —GEORGE GIO BRONDIAL

LEGAZPI CITY—Albay health officials on Friday raised a “red flag” warning against dengue following a surge in cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

Dr. Antonio Ludovice, acting provincial health officer, said city and town health units reported that there were 679 dengues cases from January to May, of which six resulted in the patient’s death.

Of the six fatalities, two were male and the rest were female, with ages ranging from 4 to 50 years, Ludovice said.

Dengue cases were reported in the towns of Guinobatan, Daraga, Polangui and the cities of Legazpi and Ligao.

Ludovice, in a phone interview, said that he was alarmed by the rising cases of dengue and deemed it necessary to issue a red flag alert, a countermeasure that would place the dengue incident under close monitoring to prevent an outbreak.

Based on the report for January to May, the number of dengue cases has significantly doubled by 376 cases, 124 percent higher than the 303 cases reported during the same period in 2018.

He said the figure might still change after health authorities validate cases reported at Barangay Masarawag in Guinobatan where 39 people were suspected to have dengue this week.

Meanwhile, the Albay Provincial Health Office’s surveillance team was confirming another group of dengue cases at Barangay Cale in Tiwi town.

Ludovice said “there [is] no outbreak yet in Albay although the cases are alarming.”

“The recent case in Barangay Masarawag in Guinobatan is considered endemic since it occurred in clustered areas,” he added.

He said the main cause of the disease was the unsanitary environment in the community and weather condition, particularly intermittent rainfall, which caused residual pools of water that mosquitos used as breeding areas.

To control and prevent the spread of the disease, he reiterated the practice of the “4S strategy,” which stands for “Search and Destroy” mosquito breeding places, “Self-protection measures,” “Seek early consultation” for fever as early as one day, and “Say yes to fogging” as a last resort when there is an impending outbreak.