Dengue cases in the city have risen to 323 as of Aug. 26, with nearly half of the city’s 138 barangays reporting confirmed cases, prompting health authorities to intensify mosquito-control measures and urge communities to eliminate breeding sites.
The City Health Office (CHO) warned that the number of cases could continue to increase in the coming months as more frequent rains create conditions favorable for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit the dengue virus.
Dr. Jaime Opinion, a city health official, said barangay officials and residents play a crucial role in preventing further transmission of the disease.
‘Our barangay officials and residents are really the main players on this. We at the City Health Office and the Tacloban City Hospital can only help in terms of interventions,’ Opinion said in an interview.
Opinion said communities should conduct regular cleanup activities in their neighborhoods and homes, particularly in areas where mosquitoes can breed.
The Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that transmit dengue commonly lay their eggs in containers and other places where stagnant water collects, including discarded tires, cans, bottles, buckets, and uncovered water-storage containers.
Densely populated
Opinion also noted that many of the barangays reporting dengue cases are densely populated, which could facilitate the spread of the disease.
Dr. Gloria Fabrigas, chief of the Tacloban City Hospital, said the facility had treated 180 dengue patients from the start of the year through the previous week.
Of the total, only six patients came from outside Tacloban, she said.
Fabregas said 34 percent of the dengue patients treated at the hospital were between 6 and 20 years old, with males accounting for most of the cases in this age group