dengue update

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100902-290043/DoH-says-dengue-now-under-control

MANILA, Philippines—Even if more than 60,000 Filipinos have fallen ill of dengue in the last eight months and their number is expected to reach 80,000 by yearend, the government is capable of managing the problem, health officials said Wednesday.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona declared at a briefing conducted in Malacañang that the Department of Health (DoH) was “on top” of the dengue problem and that there was no epidemic of the mosquito-borne disease in the country.

“We would like to reassure you that, yes, we are at the peak, or going down the peak of the incidence of dengue. We are on top of it and the administration and the DOH are fully aware of what’s going on, and we will extend all the help needed,” he said.

Ona said he had discussed the matter with President Benigno Aquino III, who in turn committed the government’s resources to help battle the disease that has so far claimed the lives of 465 Filipinos.

He said the dengue problem was “manageable in the sense that we are able to identify all the areas where it is rampant.”

He added that as a result, health officials had been able to advise local executives on how to deal with the problem.

‘Good news’

Most of the 62,503 dengue cases reported from January to Aug. 21 are in such regions as Western Visayas, Calabarzon, Central Mindanao and Eastern Visayas.

Ona said there was a dengue outbreak in only four areas—the cities of Roxas and Iloilo in Western Visayas, Digos in Davao, and Zamboanga City.

He said the “good news” was that Metro Manila had a fewer number of cases compared to last year.

Most of the dengue cases have been reported in the cities of Mandaluyong and Marikina, he also said.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the DoH National Epidemiology Center, told the Inquirer that there were fewer dengue cases in Metro Manila because it had mostly been exposed for the past three years to the Type 3 strain.

Tayag said this meant that Metro Manila residents had built immunity to that strain and were not getting sick.

Once one gets infected with any of the four known dengue strains in the country, one gets immune from it, he said.

But Tayag stressed that the DoH continued to monitor whether the other three strains had emerged in Metro Manila.

He noted that the four dengue strains were all present in Western Visayas.

Refocused efforts

Speaking later with reporters in Malacañang, Tayag said the DoH had “refocused” its anti-dengue efforts.

He said that because of the overcrowding in hospitals swamped with dengue patients, the DoH’s “overall strategy” was for health centers to separate patients between those requiring hospital treatment and those who could be treated at home.

“We want people to be confident when doctors advise them to continue or start home treatment,” he said.

Both Tayag and Ona acknowledged the DoH’s projection “based on our trending” that there would be 80,000 cases by yearend.

And given that the fatality rate of dengue is less than 1 percent, a record of 80,000 cases means that the deaths may number 800 by the end of the year, Tayag said.

“But we will try our best to [prevent that],” he said.

Meanwhile, Ona said DoH surveillance had indicated that the country was experiencing a peak in dengue cases or was now toward the end of the peak.

He said the experience in previous years was that the highest incidence of dengue was in August.

He also said the DoH had directed health officials to ensure that “express lanes” would be put up in outbreak areas like Western Visayas, so that those with suspected dengue would receive immediate medical attention.

Health officials nationwide have been repeatedly advised to step up their anti-dengue information campaign, including the cleanup of possible breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitos, Ona said.

On the question of whether dengue patients could use the plant called “tawatawa,” Ona said they could drink it as a hot tea but should not depend on it alone.

He said they should use the plant “in conjunction” with doctors’ prescriptions.

New war

In Southern Mindanao, soldiers are marching to a new war, this time against dengue.

Lt. Col. Medel Aguilar, public information officer of the 10th Infantry Division based in Davao City, Wednesday said soldiers had been sent to the towns of Mawab and Nabunturan in Compostela Valley province to take part in a massive cleanup drive organized by the municipal health offices.

Col. Roberto Ancan, commander of the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion, said the military had considered dengue among the threats to public safety that soldiers should face.

“We can expect criticisms from militant organizations as they will always associate the presence of our troops in civilian communities as militarization. But our actions will prove otherwise,” Ancan said.

Mawab Mayor Evalina Jampayas expressed gratitude for the military’s participation in anti-dengue efforts in Southern Mindanao, where nearly 5,000 patients had been reported as of the end of August.

Maj. Gen. Jorge Segovia, 10th Infantry Division chief, said soldiers performing nonmilitary functions like medical and dental missions, were not usurping the functions of other government agencies.

“Ours is just an augmentation because our soldiers can reach far and remote places, see the condition of our people, and identify and facilitate the implementation of much-needed programs to help the less fortunate ones,” Segovia said.

Last month, some 180 soldiers from the infantry division donated a total of 33,500 centiliters of blood in order to ease the shortage of blood for dengue patients in the region.

The blood-letting activity was conducted at the Felix Apolinario Naval Station in Panacan on Aug. 16.

Boy’s death

In Bacolod City, an 8-year-old boy from Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, who was taken to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in critical condition died on Aug. 26.

The boy’s death was the 21st from the dreaded dengue virus in Negros Occidental, and the sixth in Himamaylan.

His mother said he had fever for three days but she did not take him to a hospital for treatment because she thought it was “just flu,” Dr. Ceres Baldevia of CLMMRH said on Friday.

Baldevia said she had learned from the mother that when the boy’s fever subsided after the third day, the mother gave him a bath but he started vomiting blood.

The mother took the boy to Valeriano Gatuslao Memorial Hospital in Himamaylan where he was found to have zero blood pressure. He was later rushed to CLMMRH.

“At CLMMRH we tried to stabilize his condition but he kept bleeding, and we lost him after about seven to eight hours,” Baldevia said.

She said the public must be informed that anyone running a fever above 38 degrees must be immediately taken to a doctor for treatment.

“It is not okay to dismiss it as just a fever and not seek medical help because [the patient] can die,” she warned.

Most critical period

In fact, the most critical period for a dengue patient is the first 48 hours after the fever subsides, because that is when the platelet count drops, Baldevia said.

“People should not think that because the fever is gone, they are safe,” she said. “Prevent a needless death. Don’t wait until you have no more fever to seek help.” With a report from Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas