Iloilo village declares state of calamity due to dengue

FILE: DENGUE PREVENTION. Residents in a village in Iloilo province clean their surroundings. The island village of San Fernando in Iloilo’s Carles town, which was placed under a state of calamity on June 16 due to rising cases of dengue, will conduct a village-wide cleanup drive on Monday (June 24, 2019). (PNA Photo)

ILOILO CITY — The island village of San Fernando in Carles, a northern town in Iloilo province, has been placed under a state of calamity due to the rise of dengue cases.

Since its monitoring from May 14, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in Carles said San Fernando recorded 65 dengue cases.

“A day after the elections, there were two children admitted in the hospital because of dengue fever. Since then, the cases continued (rising),” Julieto Manggasang, MDRRM officer said in a phone interview Saturday.

The village of San Fernando has around 1,000 population, Manggasang said.

Most of the cases are children below 18 years old and the majority of them were brought to Jesus M. Colmenares Memorial District Hospital in Balasan town.

“Some of the critical cases were brought to Western Visayas Medical Center and other hospitals in the city,” he said.

Despite the number of affected population, Manggasang said San Fernando has not recorded deaths due to dengue.

The MDRRMO has assisted the village in declaring its state of calamity for the village officials to have access to its quick response fund.

He said the village officials have conducted an emergency session on June 16 and declared the village under a state of calamity on the same day.

“They have prepared that Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis report and substantiate their need to declare a state of calamity,” he said.

The Municipal Health Office (MHO) of Carles also conducts regular visits to the island village to remind them to conduct the “4S” strategy against dengue.

The 4S strategy, which stands for “Search and Destroy” breeding places, “Secure Self Protection” from mosquito bites, “Seek Early Consultation” when signs and symptoms of dengue occur, and “Say Yes to Fogging” as a last resort when there is a looming outbreak, is continuously campaigned to households.

“The village, MDDRMO, the MHO, among others, work hand in hand to combat dengue cases. The MHO also assisted on the fogging activities in the village to kill adult dengue-carrying mosquitoes,” he said.

Aside from daily clean-up drives, the village scheduled a collective and village-wide clean-up activity this June 24, he added.

Manggasang also noted that it was the first time to declare a state of calamity in Carles due to a high number of dengue cases.

The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Iloilo province already recorded a total of 2,778 dengue cases and 15 deaths from January 1 to June 15 this year.

The PHO data also shows that 1,300 dengue cases were recorded among children 1 to 10 years old.