Public hospitals open dengue express lanes

Anticipating increased dengue transmission with the El Niño weather phenomenon, the Department of Health has reactivated the express lane in public hospitals to deal with the influx of cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

In an interview with reporters on Monday, DOH spokesman Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy said the dengue express lanes—an old concept—had been revived at this time of the year when the incidence of the disease increases.

Lee Suy said the DOH recently issued a memorandum reactivating dengue-dedicated lanes in public hospitals to hasten the admittance of suspected and confirmed cases and to decongest emergency rooms.

“Because awareness on dengue fever has increased over the years, a lot of people seek early consultation. But emergency rooms also have other cases to attend to, so designating a special lane for dengue will hasten the facilitation of these cases,” said Lee Suy.

He also warned El Niño would impact on the dengue outbreak if people do not store water properly for daily use.

Water supply disruptions will compel households to collect and store water, which can become breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes if not carefully covered, said the DOH official.

“The El Niño is a threat to dengue because of the lack of water but we will also have a problem if they will not store water properly,” said Lee Suy.

More than 300,000 consumers of Manila Water and Maynilad are expected to be affected by low water pressure or shortened water service hours as the water level at Angat Dam continues to fall due to the warm El Niño.

As of Aug. 8, the DOH had monitored 55,079 dengue cases since January, which is 9.15 percent higher compared to the cases during the same period last year.

Last week, Health Secretary Janette Garin noted a rise in dengue cases in Cavite, Central Luzon and Central Visayas as the Cavite provincial government declared a state of emergency over the sudden surge of cases in the province.

Lee Suy ruled out the possibility of a new strain that could have caused the spike in the number of cases in Cavite.

Noting that there were only four dengue serotypes, he said it was possible that one or two strains that were not present in the province before had finally emerged, causing more people to get sick.

He said those who had caught dengue before developed lifelong immunity only from the strain that infected them and not from the other serotypes.—Jocelyn R. Uy