Navotas officials report drop in dengue cases

The Navotas City government has reported a steady 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 by 19 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

City officials said the decline was due to their intensive anti-dengue campaign.

“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 conducting cleanup activities in every barangay (village) twice a month. The city government also regularly provides anti-dengue spraying programs for communities and free regular seminars on how to avoid coming down with the mosquito-borne disease.

Earlier this year, the city government also reported a 54 percent decrease in dengue cases in 2012, compared to the same period in the previous year.

This meant that from 664 confirmed dengue cases in the city in 2011, the number of tallied last year decreased to 359.

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