This paper does not want to be a scaremonger, but the fact is that the region, like many parts of the country, has faced a very grave problem of rising dengue cases.
Local medical authorities may still not call the situation an outbreak, although the Department of Health on Tuesday already declared a national dengue epidemic, but the situation has worsened if reports from the different provinces were to be considered (just read the front page story of this paper yesterday).
The regional office of the department reported that there were 21 deaths and 4,345 cases during the first seven months of the year. Although the number of deaths was just half what was reported last year, the number of cases was 61% higher.
And this was taking place despite the all-out campaign of both the national government and the local government units in trying to arrest the disease as well as educate the public on what it can do to help in ensuring that its spread is curbed, if not totally stopped.
Of course, just like in any campaign, there are always areas to improve on to ensure its success. One is to come up with a comprehensive and unified approach to make sure that every available loophole is covered.
Another aspect of the campaign that needs to be enhanced is making the people aware of their roles. Unless they do their part, the situation will never get better.
