June is Dengue Awareness Month

Dengue is a tropical disease caused by one of the species of mosquitoes, principally Aedes aegypti. The incidence of Dengue increases over the past years. It is believed that the incidence rises during rainy season, however, there are still cases of the disease during summer. The following are symptoms that appear after 4days of infection, li!e" fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, severe #oint and muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, s!in rash which appears $-4 days after the onset of fever, and mild bleeding. The latter is said to be fatal if not given appropriate action. In %&''%(%A)*+,, $,-./ Dengue cases were reported from 0anuary . of this year to 1ay 2-, 23.$. This is .-34 higher compared to the same period last year. 5rom these numbers of cases, 2$ of them died" 6 from *eneral %antos 'ity, 7 from dengue 4 o8cloc! habit ,orth 'otabato, $ from %outh 'otabato, 2 from %arangani and 2 from %ultan (udarat. This is alarming since the government is trying their best with so many campaigns against Dengue for so many years, but unfortunately cases are still rising. This 0une, we are observing Dengue Awareness 1onth with its theme 9%top, :oo!, :isten. A!syon ;arangay (ontra Dengue, <agtibayin=>. %ugpuin ang Dengue, 1ag 4 o?cloc! @abit. Ahat is this 4 o?cloc! habitB At 4pm, we have to %T&<, and then :&&( which means we have to 9search and destroy> for the possible breeding places of mosquitoes outside and inside our homes, and lastly :I%T+, to our barangay officials on the ways of how to eradicate mosquitoes in the community. Ae, as part of D&@-'@D CII, have a great role in the campaign against Dengue. As the nation?s leader in health, it is our duty to be a good model or a good eDample in the community. The habit should start individually from us hence everybody around us will follow.

DOH MOUNTS 4 0CLOCK HABIT AT ASEAN DENGUE DAY 2013 IN CEBU: KUNG WALANG LAMOK, WALANG DENGUE

The country fast gears efforts to bring down dengue cases in massive numbers even as the Visayas and Mindanao brace for a higher number of cases this year. This involves an all-year round campaign in many high-risk areas in the country. High-risk areas are predominantly in urban centers where there is poor environmental management of household waste. Successful campaigns hinges on a serious community-based, local government unit !"#$-initiated dengue control program starting in households and reaching out to schools and other mos%uito-dense areas in the community. &engue mos%uitoes easily thrive in artificial containers that are found everywhere and sometimes where you least suspect them. 'ld tires, puddles and empty coconut shells are favorite breeding sites for these biting insects. (The battle against dengue can be won right in our own backyards but this will not be easy for each one of us,) Health Secretary *nri%ue T. 'na said. He also announced that the &epartment of Health &'H$ has inked a pact with the &epartments of +nterior , !ocal "overnment &+!"$, Science , Technology &'ST$, and *ducation &ep*d$ to collaborate on dengue control efforts nationwide. &+!" will lead all !"#s to implement the -.S/'0 1-2-0"-/ .'0T2&*0"#* in high-risk communities3 &'ST and &ep*d together with &'H will scale up the home-grown ovi-larva '!$-trap technology in selected, priority schools. The new set of local chief e4ecutives can easily make dengue control one of their top priorities. This year marks the third year since 5une 67 was declared -S*-0 &*0"#* &-/ during the 68th-S*-0 Health Ministers Meeting held in Singapore on 5uly 99, 9868. The said -S*-0 &engue &ay is supported by a community of e4perts in order to demonstrate a shift from reactionary strategies to forward planning and long-term prevention strategies. The health chief will spearhead the country:s -S*-0 &*0"#* &-/ observance in ;ebu even as Vietnam hosts all countries in the region in this year:s region-wide campaign. 2e-launched in 1atangas city early this year, the < o:clock habit against dengue brings out a simple, practical countermeasure to reduce mos%uito density to a level that makes dengue transmission manageable. -n integrated mos%uito control re%uires relentless, concerted efforts of community leaders and citi=ens to unite and attack the problem at the source> eliminating mos%uito-breeding sites. Small-scale environmental or household insect spraying and %uality and timely clinical management of dengue patients are likewise effective but with uncertain results if not too late. 'na gave pointers on how to undertake the < o:clock habit. +t is the back-to basics ST'?, !''. , !+ST*0 approach. The preliminaries include mapping out high risk areas in a locality, organi=ing teams that will undertake critical response activities and establishing a system of communications for better coordination and

sustained cooperation. ST'? means @dropping: everything and shifting current task for mos%uito control. !''. means that around < o:clock and until ne4t hour, assigned teams carry out systematic (search and destroy) activities that will identify and eliminate mos%uito-breeding sites. !+ST*0 entails heeding the instructions from local authorities, community leaders, or work supervisors for synchronous implementation of the < o:clock habit. This can be done on a daily basis, or at least on a weekly basis based on institutional capacity and prevailing resources. Meanwhile, a total of <9,98A cases and 6BC deaths were already reported by the 0ational *pidemiology ;enter for the 9Crd morbidity period 5anuary 6-5uneD, 986C$. ;ompared to the same period last year, there were <7E fewer cases 6F decline$. Most dengue cases recorded in the country are from ;entral Visayas E,89C or 76F increase$, ;-!-1-2G'0 <,A<9 or 6AF decrease$, &avao 2egion <,CE< or C8F increase$, Hestern Visayas <,<<< or 689F increase$, and S';;.S-2"*0 C,BEC or 69EF increase$. The 0ational ;apital 2egion registered C,8AC cases E,98D fewer cases or EAF decrease$. Iue=on ;ity E6A cases or AAF decrease$, Manila 7<9 cases or E7F decrease$, .alookan C<7 cases or EAF decrease$, ?arana%ue 6DD cases or EAF decrease$ and Valen=uela 6DE cases or E9F decrease$.The health chief warns that areas with lower incidence should not remain complacent as the dengue season peaks between -ugust and September.
(&engue needs urgent action and we need it now. +n the absence of the usual cures and vaccines, we have to rely on the basics of early prevention and community action,) 'na concluded.