INDIVIDUAL ACTION Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates Commonwealth High School in Quezon City on Sunday amid a dengue outbreak in the city. 鈥擥rig C. Montegrande
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak on Saturday amid the steep rise in the number of residents contracting the disease, including 10 fatalities, mostly children.
According to data from the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division, a total of 1,769 dengue cases have been recorded from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14鈥攁lmost threefold from the 609 cases recorded in the same period last year.
鈥淥ur declaration of a dengue outbreak ensures that we are on top of the situation, and we are doing everything we can to protect our residents from this deadly disease, especially our children,鈥� Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
READ: DOH sees 40% rise in dengue cases as of Feb. 1
Fifty-eight percent of the total reported cases involve school-aged children, aged 5 to 17 years old.
Of the 10 who died due to dengue, covering the period of Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, eight were all under 18, with a nine-month-old baby girl from Barangay Holy Spirit as the youngest fatality.
鈥淐hildren are the majority of those who become victims of this deadly disease. That is why I am calling on my fellow parents to work together in protecting our children against dengue. Let us be alert to what our children are feeling and take the lead in clean-up drives in our communities,鈥� Belmonte said.
Of the 142 barangays in Quezon City, 54 percent, or 76, have exceeded the epidemic threshold鈥攐r the minimum number of cases to indicate a dengue outbreak鈥攐ver the past six weeks of the year.
Largest barangays
Most of the dengue cases were reported to be residents of the most populous barangays of Batasan Hills (133), Payatas A and B (102), and Commonwealth (92).
Quezon City epidemiologist Dr. Rolando Cruz attributed the outbreak to the intermittent rains in the past two months bringing forth stagnant waters, which serve as breeding sites for mosquitoes.
As a primary solution to address the late diagnosis of dengue, all 66 Quezon City health centers will be open during the weekends to accommodate all possible dengue patients.
A 鈥渇ever express lane鈥� in all the city鈥檚 health centers and hospitals was also established to swiftly attend to citizens with a fever, which is among the most common symptoms of dengue.
Free dengue test kits are also available in all of the city鈥檚 health centers and hospitals.
Belmonte urged the residents to immediately go to their nearest health centers if they experience any dengue symptoms, including fever, headache, and joint pains.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante also urged parents to bring their children to a hospital if their fever has not subsided within three days.
鈥淐hildren are more vulnerable to dengue because they do not have antibodies yet. They were not yet exposed before to this kind of disease,鈥� he said in a radio interview on Sunday.
Preempt critical phase
According to Solante, it is advisable to bring a patient suspected to have dengue to a hospital by the third day of the onset of symptoms, usually a fever鈥攂efore the 鈥渃ritical phase鈥� of the illness.
During this stage, which may run from the fourth to the sixth day of the symptoms, the fever may subside, but the platelet count of the patient slumps and there will be bleeding.
The seventh to 10th day is the 鈥渞ecovery phase,鈥� when platelets return to normal count, the patient may feel better, and rashes will come out of the skin.
Data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that dengue cases across the country are also surging.
As of Feb. 1, a total of 28,234 cases have been recorded, which was a 40 percent increase from last year.
Despite the upward trend of cases, the DOH logged a decrease in the number of dengue patients who died. The case fatality rate as of Feb. 1 stood at 0.35 percent, lower than last year鈥檚 0.42 percent.