TACLOBAN CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) has reported clustering cases of dengue fever in 11 barangays across the city.
In an announcement made on Wednesday, August 14, the CHO revealed that based on the surveillance conducted by the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) over the past four weeks, 11 barangays have been identified as having clusters of dengue cases.
Clustering of dengue cases occurs when a barangay has three or more reported cases of the disease.
At present, these barangays have 36 combined cases of dengue fever.
According to the CHO, the barangays with clustering of dengue cases are as follows: Barangay 95 with 4 cases, Barangay 83-C with 4 cases, Barangay 99 with 4 cases, Barangay 109 with 4 cases, Barangay 110 with 3 cases, Barangay 71 with 4 cases, Barangay 106 with 4 cases, Barangay 77 with 3 cases, Barangay 97 with 3 cases, Barangay 83 with 3 cases, and Barangay 79 with 3 cases.
The CHO once again reminded the public to practice the “5S” strategy and the “4 o’clock habit” to prevent dengue.
Meantime, the Department of Health (DOH) in the region has asked all health facilities, both public and private, to establish dengue fast lanes.
This directive is in light of the increasing cases of dengue fever in the region.
In the same directive, health facilities must arrange for the retraining of medical personnel involved in the management of dengue cases, focusing on prompt detection, appropriate triage, and treatment in accordance with established guidelines.
Also, they must ensure an adequate supply of intravenous fluids, diagnostic tools such as Dengue Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs), and essential medications are readily available for patient care.
As of this week, there are now 6,058 cases of dengue fever across the region, higher by 154 percent compared to the same figure at 2,386 cases.
The DOH also reported 15 deaths in the same period.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
