Dengue is still a public health threat in Cagayan Valley-DOH Region 2

Sunday 15th of July 2012

BAGUIO CITY, July 15 (PIA) -- The dengue disease is still one of the major public health threats in Cagayan Valley as it continues to affect young and old alike.

This was disclosed by Dr. Rio Magpantay, regional director of the Department of Health(DOH) in Cagayan Valley during the recent Regional Dengue Stakeholders Forum and Planning Workshop here July 11 to 12.

He said that there is an increase in the cases of dengue in almost all of the provinces in Region 2 such as Batanes, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino in 2011.

“Dengue is still taking its deadly toll to our constituents and therefore we should intensify our campaign and let us close ranks with our partner agencies to prevent its occurrence by wiping out breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes especially in the barangays,” Magpantay told health workers and allied agency representatives.

DOH report shows that Batanes had two cases in 2010, 778 in 2011, and two cases as of June of 2012 ; Cagayan with 903 cases in 2009, 3,656 cases in 2010, 1,802 cases in 2011, and 291 cases as of June 2012; Isabela had 871 cases in 2009, 749 in 2010, 4,329 in 2011, and 623 as of June 2012; Nueva Vizcaya had 376 cases in 2009, 1,425 cases in 2010, 1,935 in 2011, and 279 cases as of June 2012 while Quirino had 90 cases in 2009, 170 in 2010, 759 in 2011 and 30 cases as of June 2012.

Deaths were also recorded from 2009 to June 2012 in Isabela with 27, four in Nueva Vizcaya, three in Quirino, 10 in Cagayan and one in Batanes.

Isabela province remains having the highest number of casualties in the outbreak of dengue during the year 2011, Magpantay added.

According to Magpantay, trends have changed and dengue is no longer a rainy season disease. “Dengue cases are now expected even when the rainy months, June to August, are over and this is one of the factors that contributed to the increase of dengue cases ,” he said.

Ages of cases have also ranged from less than one-year-old to more than 41 years old. Males and Females are both affected, Magpantay said.

The doctor said that with the planning workshop, he is expecting an intensified campaign on dengue prevention and control since assistance of other agencies were also summoned in the multi-sectoral effort for the program.

The intensified campaign, Magpantay said seeks to eliminate dengue as a public health menace in Cagayan Valley and in the entire country as well by bringing the preventive knowledge and practice within families.

“The best way to combat the occurrence of dengue is vigilance, awareness, and sustained wiping out of possible breeding sites of carrier –mosquitoes by our constituents. We have the best guns or knowledge but it needs bullets or practice to do it,” he stressed. (BME-PIA 2,Nueva Vizcaya)