MANILA, Philippines – In celebration of the first-ever ASEAN Dengue Day on Wednesday, the health department urged top officials and leaders of the country's public schools, churches, public markets and communities to conduct search and destroy activities in their areas of jurisdiction to prevent dengue.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 27,071 cases of dengue from January to June 11, 2011.
This is 4.12% lower compared to the same period last year of 28,234 cases.
Most of the reported cases were from the following regions:
· National Capital Region (8,184) · Region III or Central Luzon (4,624) · Region IV-A (3,935)
In the NCR, most of the cases were from:
· Quezon City (2,017) · Pasig City (970) · Caloocan City (951)
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Enrique Ona appealed to the public not to be complacent even if the number of dengue cases went down. Ona noted that last year, dengue cases reached its peak in the months of June, July and August.
Ona also reminded the public of the 4S strategy to fight dengue: Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; Self-protection measures; Seek early treatment; and Say no to indiscriminate fogging.
