CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu City Health Officer Rodolfo Berame slammed reports accusing him of not having submitted a dengue report for five years now to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit-7.
Berame, who has been serving as the city's health officer for at least 10 years now, explained that the city doesn't need to submit a list of dengue cases to the regional office of the Department of Health since local hospitals are already doing the same.
"Why do we have to report to him when our hospitals already submit their own reports to RESU? If we do what hospitals are doing, then that's duplication already," he said in Cebuano.
Berame was reacting to reports that RESU-7 chief Renan Cimafranca complained why the Lapu-Lapu City government has failed to send in its own tally of dengue cases to the higher office.
He said all Lapu-Lapu hospitals are accredited by the DOH surveillance unit and in turn are asked to transmit their reports to RESU as he maintained that the city is not bound to submit its own report since it is also just sourcing its records from these hospitals.
The city currently hosts four hospitals, three of which are private, as follows: Our Lady of Rule Hospital in Barangay Gun-ob; Tojong Hospital in Barangay Looc; and Mactan Doctors' Hospital in Barangay Basak.
The Lapu-Lapu City Hospital in Sitio Carajay, Barangay Gun-ob is the only public hospital in the city which also operates a branch in Barangay Sta. Rosa, Olango Island.
Records from January to October 1 this year reveal that after Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City tops local government units in Central Visayas in number of dengue cases with 257 reported cases, of which one resulted to death.
In the same period last year, the city logged 227 dengue cases and trailed behind Cebu City (861 cases, three deaths) and Dumaguete City (266, two deaths).
Berame said they themselves are monitoring dengue cases in the city through their City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit. Under CESU records, patients who experience symptoms of dengue but are not eventually found to be suffering from the virus are not listed.
This, he said, is contrary to the current practice among hospitals where even suspected cases are reportedly included in the counting.
He also added that there are some dengue patients from other places who opt to confine in Lapu-Lapu City hospitals, contributing to the city's high figures.
Meanwhile, Mayor Paz Radaza suggested that the Department of Health sends a notice to Berame for not submitting a dengue case report to RESU.
"They (RESU) are with DOH-7 which is a higher office (than what) Berame is holding. They just have to issue a memo to him," the mayor said, adding this could just be a case of miscommunication.
Radaza said she has instructed Berame to talk with the barangay officials to coordinate with residents in fighting against dengue, as well as to submit a monthly report to her office in order to assess the situation.
"It's alarming for me knowing that the city is in the second or third place for having that kind of disease," she said.
The FREEMAN tried to reach the office of Cimafranca yesterday but no comment was made available as of press time. (FREEMAN)