Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Enrique Ona said dengue is now a "serious concern" after the number of cases rose by 75% from January to August this year, compared to the same period last year.
A total of 54,659 dengue cases were reported nationwide from January 1 to August 14, 2010, much higher than the recorded 31,248 cases in the same period in 2009.
There were 429 deaths recorded in the last seven months and almost 80% of the cases recorded belonged to the 1-20 year old age bracket.
Ona said he met with ASEAN ministers of health to discuss the worsening dengue situation in what he calls the "belt of dengue," which includes other Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
"This is a serious concern. As a matter of fact, nag-agree din po ang mga minister of health na ipagsasama namin ang ating kagalingan sa research para masugpo ang dengue (As a matter of fact, ASEAN ministers of health agreed to combine our resources for research on how to fight dengue)," he said.
He said the Philippines and other countries are continuously looking for new ways of preventing and curing the disease, including efforts to change the genetic makeup of mosquitoes and to develop a vaccination for dengue.
"Specifically I cannot say if it will take us 1 year or 3 years [to develop a vaccine for dengue], but we will have scientific cooperation to pool our resources for research among other ASEAN nations," he said.
"The best effort still is to really clean [the surroundings] and to make sure that there's no stagnant water," he said, adding that stagnant water, whether clean or dirty, can become breeding ground of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Dengue prevention
Ona reminds the public the 4 S's that are the best prevention for dengue:
"Search and destroy" (look for the breeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquitoes);
"Self-protective measures" (use mosquito repellant and wear clothes that can protect you from mosquito bites)
"Seek early consultation" (when a patient has had high grade fever for more than two days and develops rashes, consult a doctor)
"Say no to indiscriminate fogging"
At a dengue awareness event in Jose Rizal Elementary School, the health chief turned over dengue educational materials like posters and flyers to Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro.
The Department of Education (DepEd) earlier announced that it will work closely with the DOH in preventing dengue in schools.
"We have to make sure that the whole community, and that's education, health, and our local health officials, are together in this," Luistro said.
"Kung hindi natin masusugpo ang dengue sa loob ng paaralan, hindi rin natin ito masusugpo sa barangay, hindi rin natin ito masusugpo sa buong bayan (If we cannot eradicate dengue in schools, then we cannot eradicate it in barangays and in the entire nation)," he said.
The Education Secretary also encouraged the students to teach what they learn in school to their parents and other members of their households.
"Ang pinag-aaralan natin dito sa eskwelahan ay dapat makatulong sa atin. Sana ang inyong mga leksyon dito tungkol sa pagsugpo ng dengue ay maituro sa inyong mga magulang at kasambahay para itong dengue awareness sa school ay magamit natin para maging education awareness sa community," he said.
(What we learn about dengue in school should help everyone. Teach these lectures to your parents and members of your household so that the dengue awareness in school also becomes an education awareness for the community.) –VVP
