But hospitals teem with dengue patients

PRIVATE and government hospitals in Dagupan are now crowded with patients suspected to be  suffering from dengue but the Provincial Health Office still insists that there is no outbreak of dengue in Pangasinan. 

Acting Provincial Health Officer Jackson Soriano refuted the declaration made by Dr. George Calugay, representative of the Department of Health in Pangasinan, that there is already an outbreak of dengue in the province.

A report before deadline showed that the patients are packing Region I Medical Center, the Villaflor Memorial Medical Center as well as other hospitals in the city.

Calugay based his confirmation on the reported 211 cases of dengue, including one death, which was registered in Pangasinan from January to July this year.

But Soriano insisted that  dengue fever cases in the province have not yet reached outbreak proportion, citing that there were only 94 dengue that were confirmed while 54 others were merely suspected.

Dr. Soriano maintains the situation is still manageable.

Dr.  Calugay told a regional television station that there is already an outbreak of dengue in the province, holding on to his own figure that stated among others that Dagupan has the biggest number of dengue cases at 69.

Calugay’s report was based on a data furnished by the Malaria Control Program which illustrated in graph form that there were 52 cases registered in January, 34 in February, 31 in March, 25 in April, 11 in May, 43 in June and 15 up to July 9.

The other cases were registered in Sta. Barbara, 14; Lingayen, 12; Calasiao, 9; Mabini and San Carlos City; 7 each; Aguilar, Bolinao, Labrador and Mangaldan, six each; Alaminos City, Bani, Binmaley, Malasiqui, Manaoag and San Fabian, 5 each,

Bayambang, 4; Agno, Alcala, Sto. Tomas, Urdaneta City and Villasis, 3 each; Anda, Asingan, Laoac, Mapandan, Rosales, two each; and Basista, Bugallon, Dasol, Pozorrubio, San Jacinto, San Manuel, Sison, Sual, Umingan and Urbiztondo, one each. 

He said the number of cases so far reported is very minimal as compared to that of last year when the anti-dengue task force recorded a total of 1,050 cases.

“Yet there was no declaration of dengue outbreak last year,” Soriano said.

In a PUNCH interview with Dr. Rachel Reynaldo-Magalong of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit based in San Fernando La Union, Regional Office, she also confirmed that there is no dengue outbreak in the province.

She said they could not tell if there is a dengue outbreak this year unless they finish assessing the report from the previous years.

Meanwhile, Soriano said the continuous larvicidal and fogging operations ordered by Gov. Victor Agbayani greatly helped reduce the number of dengue cases in Pangasinan.

Soriano said that Dr. Calugay may have used the cumulative number of cases in reaching his conclusion. He added that even Eduardo Janairo, DOH Region 1 director, did not believe there is now a dengue outbreak in the province.

A day-biting mosquito called Aedis Egypti causes dengue.

Among its symptoms are abrupt onset of continuous high fever lasting 2-7 days, severe frontal headache, muscle and joint pains, skin rushes, nausea and vomiting, sever and continuous stomach pain, dark-colored stools, excessive thirst, difficulty in breathing, bleeding of nose and gums and death.

Soriano advised the public to keep their surroundings clean to prevent dengue. – AQL

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