OTABATO CITY – North Cotabato health officials are on the lookout for the early detection of dengue amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis as the province has logged more than 400 cases since January.
This came as North Cotabato Governor Nancy A. Catamco directed provincial health providers to closely monitor areas in the province with a high incidence of dengue.
“Fighting Covid-19 is equally as important as fighting dengue,” Catamco said in a directive issued on Tuesday.
Responding to Catamco’s marching orders, the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has called for active community support in its intensified drive against dengue following the onset of the rainy season.
Provincial Board Member Philbert Malaluan, a medical doctor, said from January to June 15 this year, the IPHO and Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) have listed 407 cases of dengue with three deaths coming from the municipalities of Makilala and M’lang.
Malaluan, the chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s (Provincial Board) committee on health and sanitation, said although the cases of dengue in the province have not reached the epidemic threshold, the provincial government is applying precautionary measures to suppress the spread of the deadly mosquito-borne disease.
He also said that dengue and Covid-19 are difficult to distinguish because they both share the same clinical laboratory features.
“However, unlike Covid-19, (the) dengue virus cannot be transmitted through human contact but through mosquito bites of (the) ‘Aedes aegypti’ mosquitoes,” Malaluan said.
He noted that dengue mosquitos usually breed around human dwellings and prefer to lay eggs in clean and stagnant water, such as on roof gutters and old rubber tires.
Based on the data of PESU, the municipality of Matalam recorded the highest cases of dengue with 42 cases, followed by Libungan and Kidapawan City with 40 cases each.
Dr. Eva C. Rabaya, North Cotabato IPHO head, said her office is continuously intensifying its information drive against dengue through “rekoridas” (mobile public address systems), social media, and community seminars on the enhanced 4S Strategy, which stands for search and destroy, seek early consultation, self-protection measures, and saying ‘yes’ to fogging only during outbreaks.
“As of now, the IPHO and PESU do not only focus on preventing the spread of (the) Covid-19 pandemic but we are also monitoring the rise of dengue cases here in the province that (has) affected thousands of individuals last year,” Rabaya said.
Last year, health workers reported a surge in dengue cases in the province prompting the Provincial Board to declare North Cotabato under a state of calamity.
Catamco has authorized the use of the quick response fund in purchasing fogging equipment and other materials needed in addressing dengue cases in the province.
Alerted of the current high incidence of dengue, she also urged all Cotabateños to practice the 4-S campaign against dengue and seek early consultation, especially when experiencing recurring fever that cannot be treated by ordinary medication for pain and fever.
“Everyone must be prime movers in controlling dengue to avoid any possible deaths within the community as we are still on our journey of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” Catamco said. -PNA
