Toddler dead due to dengue

CEBU, Philippines - A two-year-old child has died due to dengue, becoming the first fatality recorded this month.

Cyril Pangatungan, designated officer of the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) of the Cebu Provincial Health Office, said they learned of the child’s death from a Bantayan District Hospital report last Tuesday.

She said the child was from Barangay Hilantagaan in the town of Santa Fe, Bantayan Island.

Last July, at least two deaths were recorded by the PHO, or one from Daanbantayan town and the other from the City of Naga.

Pangatungan said he advised the Santa Fe municipal government to conduct cleanup drive to search and destroy dengue breeding grounds.

He said a PHO personnel will be sent to Santa Fe today to look for potential breeding sites and would also conduct misting as a way of preventing the mosquito-borne disease.

PHO records showed that 2, 924 dengue cases within Cebu province were reported from January to July this year, which is a bit lower compared to 2,983 cases for the same period last year.

Pangatungan said that among the towns and component cities of Cebu, Talisay City has the most number of dengue cases at 282. It is followed by Consolacion with 253;  Argao, 186; Danao City, 176; Toledo City, 158; Carcar City, 140; Minglanilla, 135; Liloan, 135 cases; Badian, 118 cases; and  Dalaguete, 107.

He said the data they gathered came from reports of the provincial and district hospitals as well as the Rural Health Units of Cebu province, excluding private hospitals and the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

He advised the public to always maintain cleanliness of surroundings and ensure that there are no stagnant or standing water, as these would serve as breeding ground for the dengue-carrying mosquitoes. (FREEMAN)