Dengue Cases In Southern Leyte Rising

Dengue Cases In Southern Leyte Rising

By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The dengue cases in this province has risen from a few cases of 21 from January up to April, to an alarming total of 469 as of the third week of September of the current year. It has three deaths within the span of almost 9 months with their ages categorized as children.

This was the combined disclosures of a nurse Gerry E. Buslon,record in-charged of the admitted patients at the provincial hospital here and that of a DOH-PIDSR team representative, who do not want to be named, in a recent interview at the IPHO (Integrated Provincial Health Office) technical office. The acronym PIDSR means the Philippines Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, whose team is under the umbrella organization of the Dept. of Health.

Buslon informed that from January up to April there were only a few cases of dengue admitted at the Salvacion Oppus –Yñiguez Memorial Provincial Hospital (SOYMPH).But from May up to the first and second week of August, it gradually increased to 155 as the records showed.

The DOH-PIDSR representative said that from within the duration of four months period when he was sent here by the Health Department, there were two deaths. They were both four-year-old children. .One was from Maasin City and the other was from the neighboring town of Matalom, Leyte. Folks in this area would usually bring their patients to Maasin hospital due to the proximity of the capital city.

However, as of the start of the second week of August up to the third week of September, the provincial hospital was “overloaded” with patients from different places of the province.

The admitted patients, it was learned, were not only “suspected” dengue cases but also other sickness like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and stomach ache and diarrhea. Many patients composed of children and adults were already occupying the hallway and along the corridors to accommodate them.

Records showed that of the aforementioned figures of a total 469 dengue cases,211 were from Maasin’s different barangays,while 179 cases were from the 17 different towns of the province. Like the municipality of Macrohon with 41 dengue cases and Limasawa island municipality with 39.The youngest dengue patient was 5 months old and the oldest were 36, 54 and 56 years old. By percentage adult dengue patients (hospital category from 14 years old and above) comprised about 28%,while the children(13 and below)constituted 72%.

Other 4 municipalities of Leyte Province nearer to Maasin whose dengue patients were rushed to the provincial hospital were Matalom-more than 60, Bato-6, Mahaplag-1 and Baybay-1.

Other municipalities of Southern Leyte whose dengue patients were admitted at the provincial hospital here were: 1)Padre Burgos-19; 2)Pintuayn-17; 3)Malitbog-15; 4)San Ricardo-14; 5)Sogod-13; 6)Bontoc ,San Francisco, San Juan,Liloan- 5,4,3 and 3 respectively; 7)Tomas Oppus, Lilbagon,St.Bernard and Anahawan-1 each.

Dr. Galia-Rodriguez disclosed that some symptoms of suspected dengue patients are on and off fever from three to five days,rashes,nose bleeding or abdominal ache for late stage.

The head pediatrician advised those people concerned that if some manifestations of such symptoms were noticed in their respective families, the patients must be brought to the nearest hospital for admission and earlier observation and not to wait when the patients get worst.

Some measure to prevent the spread of the day-biting dengue-carrier mosquito known as Aedes Egypti, are the following:1)Maintain a clean surroundings. All folks in the communities or districts must clean their respective surroundings regularly; 2)Flower vases, used tires, tin cans, unused containers and anything that can hold or store water must be covered or turned upside down(ikulob in the Cebuano language;ikub-is the shorten version of ikulob); 3)All water containers inside and outside residences must be covered always to avoid the dengue-carrier mosquitos(Aedes Egypti) from laying their eggs; 4)Always clean the canals in the neighborhood; 5)Cover existing stagnant water s in your backyards; 6)Always wear regular-thick long sleeves, most particularly those living near low-laying plants or grasses as shields from the bites of dengue-infected mosquitoes; 7)Drink plenty of water at least 10 glasses a day including fruit juices; 8)Always eat fruits rich in vitamin C and vegetables; 9)Have enough sleep(rest) for at least 8 hours to have a good resistance.

Every household must adopt, put into practice and drastically implement these preventive measures to ensure good results. This is to reduce, if not to eradicate, the annual occurrence of dengue fever in the entire country. (Quirico M. Gorpido, Jr.)