By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Manila city government has intensified its measures against dengue amid a reported surge in cases of the deadly disease in other cities in the National Capital Region.
Mayor Honey Lacuna on Tuesday directed the Manila Health Department, barangay officials and district hospital chiefs to boost dengue prevention efforts.
“Guided by the Dengue Surveillance Report by the Manila Health Department, I have instructed the MHD and the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to deploy additional anti-mosquito larvae (larvicide) kits to barangays where a rise in dengue cases has been observed. We also have intensified misting operations,” she said in a statement.
Lacuna said health center personnel, barangay health workers, nutrition scholars and sanitation specialists were also directed to include in the search-and-destroy efforts against mosquitoes all tires atop the roofs of houses in the city which were turned into mini gardens, noting that these trap rainwater can easily turn into breeding places for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, she said there is no dengue outbreak in the city as its case fatality rate stands at just 0.62 percent and its attack rate is only 7.18 percent.
An attack rate of 10 to 100 per 10,000 population is considered high, particularly when sustained over time or in a densely populated area.
“The number of barangays in Manila is 897 with a total population of 1.91 million. If you put the number against dengue cases in the city, it’s far from ‘outbreak’ level,” Lacuna said.
She added that of the 897 barangays in Manila, 25 were found with clustering or increase in the number of dengue cases, and most of those sick are aged five to 39.
The city’s Districts 1, 5 and 6 logged the highest number of cases. Four were reported to have died and three of them are from District 3.
Lacuna also reported that a total of 51 barangays were subjected to misting as of Feb. 14.
“The entire city is currently safe from the risk of dengue, but we are not complacent. On the contrary, we will increase the supplies of medicine and vitamins to the health centers and super health centers, to boost the resistance of the residents against the virus,” she said. (PNA)
