Baguio intensifies war against dengue

BAGUIO CITY — Baguio City is gearing up anew for a war against the dreaded dengue as the summer heat intensifies and rainy season is nearing.

Dubbed as “denguerra,” the city government iron out plans to strengthen its implementation of preventive programs while cases are starting to pick up to prevent the risk of an outbreak like what happened in 2016 where dengue cases were at their highest. 

The city’s proactive stance will involve enhancement of case surveillance, 5S or the “Search and destroy breeding sites; Self-protection from mosquito bites; Seek early medical consultation; Support fogging in areas with clustering of cases; and Sustain hydration” anti-dengue public awareness campaign and clean-up drives including the said war.

“Denguerra” is a war against Dengue program, an intensified campaign to mobilize barangays to conduct massive and simultaneous search and destroy operations every Thursday to weed out mosquito breeding sites as well as other interventions to stop the reproduction of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

The City Health Services Office (CHSO) reported a total of 260 dengue cases in the city from 1 January to 25 April this year.  There was one death — a 63-year-old male from the Loakan area who died not directly of dengue but of dengue-related causes. 

City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (CESU) Head Dr. Donabel Panes said of the total, only 93 were admitted to the hospital while the rest were outpatients.

The barangays with clustering of cases are Irisan, Aurora Hill Proper (Malvar-Sgt. Floresca), Bakakeng Central and Middle Quirino Hill while the top 12 barangays with most number of cases as of 19 April are Bakakeng Central with 23 cases; Asin Road with 15; San Luis Village, 12; Sto. Rosario Valley, 11; New Lucban, 9; Gibraltar, 8; Camp 7, 7; Bakakeng Norte, Kias, Military Cut off, Pinsao Proper and Middle Quirino Hill with six apiece.

To catch all cases, the city also launched an online system of reporting cases to boost surveillance and capture all cases as part of the CHSO’s newly developed monitoring system which, according to Panes, integrates data gathering from health laboratories and citizen self-reporting.