MANILA — Despite the decrease in the number of dengue cases, a senator on Thursday urged the Department of Health (DOH) not to let its guard down in efforts to prevent and treat the mosquito-borne disease especially during the rainy season.
Sen. Nancy Binay made this call to the DOH following online report from the Bacolod City Health Office showed that the city has already documented 535 cases of dengue, including the death of five children.
This figure is 84.5 percent higher than last year’s 290 cases which include the death of two children.
However, the DOH announced last month that cases of dengue in the country have dropped to approximately 36,000 in the first five months of this year which is 31.8 percent lower than the 52,780 cases recorded in the same period last year.
DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau, meanwhile, reported that it has recorded 207 dengue deaths from January 1 to May 20.
“Given that dengue is a problem we face every year, it is practical for the government to prepare to handle a possible surge in cases, particularly during the rainy season when the disease is prevalent,” Binay said in a statement.
“We must remember that dengue kills. We cannot be complacent just because of the recorded cases of the disease so far this year is lower than last year’s,” she added.
Binay urged the DOH to make an inventory on medicines, blood and other necessities for dengue patients.
She said that it is better to be “ready” at all times. Azer Parrocha/PNA-northboundasia.com