The Davao City Health Office (CHO) is now coordinating with the Department of Health for the conduct of seminars in the barangays this year to strengthen the Dengue Task Force, in line with Ordinance No. 0401 series of 2020 or the City Health Office Mosquito-Borne Viral Disease Prevention Program.
“Ang IRR with regards sa institutionalizing sa Dengue Task Force sa mga barangay naa nata’y plano with the Department of Health. Last year, nag-istorya mi nga mag conduct og series of seminars for barangays and ana sila nga karong tuiga naka-line up nana siya (The IRR with regards to institutionalizing the Dengue Task Force in the barangays, we already have a plan with the Department of Health. Last year, we talked about the conduct of the series of seminars for barangays and they said that it has been lined up for this year,” CHO Officer-In-Charge Dr. Tomas Ababon said in an interview with the City Information Office earlier this month.
Ababon said that they hope that the Barangay Dengue Task Force could help in the drive against Dengue.
In an interview in December last year, CHO Tropical Disease Division Head Melodina Babante revealed that household surveillances showed that the [dengue] infection
was acquired in the communities and several schools were also found to be breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.
In 2023, the CHO also saw an increase in the number of dengue cases in the city compared with that of 2022. The office recorded a total of 6,252 confirmed dengue cases in the city from January to December 2023. This is 65.4 percent higher than the previous year’s record of 3,758 confirmed cases.
The dengue mortality rate in the city also increased from 21 deaths in 2022 to 51 recorded deaths from January to December of 2023.
In line with these data, the CHO continues to urge Dabawenyos to search and destroy possible breeding sites of mosquitoes in their homes; to immediately seek medical assistance instead of waiting for the symptoms to worsen; to practice self-protection measures including the use of mosquito repellent and mosquito nets; to support the fogging and misting programs, but to also not rely solely on it; as well as to sustain hydration to patients.
The barangays are also advised to create their own Dengue Task Force for those that have yet to create one. CIO
