An alarming thing was the report of the City Health Office this week about the increase in the number of dengue cases during the first six month of the year, five of them resulting in death of children.
The report added that although the number of dead during the period was higher compared with the same period the previous year, the total number of cases this year was higher.
The report also identified that most of those dead where children below 10, except for the octogenarian from SIR, Barangay 76-A, Talomo District.
Of course, other places may have experienced the same situation especially in rural areas similar to the areas where the dengue cases were monitored.
In the city, the good thing is that the CHO, according to a pest control worker, has identified the so-called hotspots, or areas where the cases were prevalent as these areas are among the heavily-populated as well as areas known for the presence of breeding grounds of mosquitoes. These insects usually thrive in areas where there are stagnant bodies of water.
Having identified these areas, it would be better for the agency to focus much of its intervention efforts on these to ensure that the impact would be felt by the communities there. There must also be sustained campaign activities not only to eliminate the breeding grounds but also to educate the residents on how, on their own, they can be able to at least mitigate the prevalence of the illness.
Both the city government, through the agency, and the residents must embody the adage “prevention is better than cure” to be able to at least curb, if not completely eliminate the spread of the illness by consciously implementing steps in this direction.
