Post by Baqu3ro on May 29, 2008 12:52:14 GMT 8
The Department of Health (DOH) is expecting some 40,000 dengue cases to surface with the onset of the rainy season, an official said yesterday.
In a text message to The STAR, Dr. Eric Tayag, DOH chief epidemiologist, said the dengue surge could be prevented if campaigns to eradicate dengue-causing Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes would be successful.
Dr. Lyndon Leesuy, head of the DOH’s National Dengue Prevention Program, said they have been closely coordinating with local health authorities and barangay leaders to intensify “search and destroy” programs against these mosquitoes.
“It is really important to eliminate anything that could become breeding sites of mosquitoes. We have to keep our surroundings clean,” he said in a phone interview.
Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are characterized by stripes on their legs and they bite during daytime. They thrive in clean but stagnant water that is abundant during the rainy season.
From Jan. 1 to April 26, the DOH had recorded a total of 10,498 dengue cases in its sentinel hospitals. But so far, there is no dengue outbreak anywhere in the country.
While this figure is 36.4 percent higher than that in the same period last year, Leesuy said the number of dengue cases has been on a decline since March.
“On a weekly basis, it’s going down. We only have 103 cases in our 17th week (report dated April 26). On the 13th week, there were 407 cases, 368 cases on the 14th week, 310 cases on the 15th week, and 260 cases on the 16th week,” he said.
“So you’ll see (it) is decreasing. But we don’t want to be complacent about this, especially with the start of the rainy season,” he added. – Sheila Crisostomo
philstar.com/index.php?Nation&p=49&type=2&sec=28&aid=2008052835
In a text message to The STAR, Dr. Eric Tayag, DOH chief epidemiologist, said the dengue surge could be prevented if campaigns to eradicate dengue-causing Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes would be successful.
Dr. Lyndon Leesuy, head of the DOH’s National Dengue Prevention Program, said they have been closely coordinating with local health authorities and barangay leaders to intensify “search and destroy” programs against these mosquitoes.
“It is really important to eliminate anything that could become breeding sites of mosquitoes. We have to keep our surroundings clean,” he said in a phone interview.
Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are characterized by stripes on their legs and they bite during daytime. They thrive in clean but stagnant water that is abundant during the rainy season.
From Jan. 1 to April 26, the DOH had recorded a total of 10,498 dengue cases in its sentinel hospitals. But so far, there is no dengue outbreak anywhere in the country.
While this figure is 36.4 percent higher than that in the same period last year, Leesuy said the number of dengue cases has been on a decline since March.
“On a weekly basis, it’s going down. We only have 103 cases in our 17th week (report dated April 26). On the 13th week, there were 407 cases, 368 cases on the 14th week, 310 cases on the 15th week, and 260 cases on the 16th week,” he said.
“So you’ll see (it) is decreasing. But we don’t want to be complacent about this, especially with the start of the rainy season,” he added. – Sheila Crisostomo
philstar.com/index.php?Nation&p=49&type=2&sec=28&aid=2008052835