DOH launching school-based anti-dengue drive in the Visayas

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is mounting starting today a school-based anti-dengue campaign in various provinces in the Visayas.

Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, DOH head executive assistant, said a team led by Health Secretary Enrique Ona is going to Negros Occidental and other provinces in the Visayas to kick off the intensified anti-dengue drive.

Oliveros said the DOH is launching the campaign as most dengue victims acquired the mosquito-borne disease in schools.

After Negros Occidental, Ona is scheduled to proceed to Iloilo to personally assess the dengue situation in the province, Oliveros said.

The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) has also mobilized its youth volunteers to mount a school-based anti-dengue campaign in their respective areas.

The PNRC said there is a need to come up with new and creative measures to combat the spread of dengue in various communities.

In Roxas City, Capiz where 1,909 dengue cases and 13 deaths were recorded as of Aug. 7, the provincial PNRC chapter has conducted a clean-up drive and information dissemination on dengue in schools and communities.

The PNRC-Capiz chapter also intensified mass blood donation and blood donor recruitment.

In Negros Occidental, 2,916 dengue cases and 15 deaths were recorded from January to Aug. 10, representing a 262 percent increase compared to last year. In Bacolod City alone, there were 700 cases with two deaths.

The DOH reported that a total of 40,648 dengue patients were admitted to various hospitals nationwide from January to July 31. The figure is 48 percent higher compared to the same period last year.