LINGAYEN–The alert level for dengue fever in the province has been raised but health officials are not set to declare an epidemic as yet. 

The move was taken following the marked high incidence of mosquito-borne dengue hemorrhagic fever which has so far afflicted 925 persons resulting in 13 deaths from January to September 11.

Dr. Anna de Guzman, deputy provincial health officer, stressed this as Dr. Racquel Magalong, epidemiologist based at the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of the Department of Health in La Union, maintained there is no dengue in Pangasinan despite the reported number of cases.

Quoting Magalong, de Guzman said that although cases in some cities like Dagupan and San Carlos increased more than the alert threshold, appropriate actions have been taken promptly to contain the spread.

Magalong earlier met with municipal health officers and sanitary inspectors for a consultative meeting on epidemiology and disease surveillance to clarify case definitions as to when an outbreak should be declared.

De Guzman belied earlier reports published in one tabloid that dengue fatalities in Pangasinan alone have reached 36.

She said there were only 13 casualties, 11 alone died only last August.

“For us to declare an outbreak, the number of incidents should have reached around 2,000,” de Guzman said as she said that in 2005, there were 1,055  cases in Pangasinan.

This year, it is only 925 with 386 suspects and 526 confirmed cases.  She noted that from Sept. 1 to 11, there were only 59 recorded cases.

She added that the number of incidents across the province is already decreasing.

She added that there are two thresholds used by health officials, one is  alert level where there is an increasing incidents and the other, epidemic  which indicates more than 50 times higher than the previous record.

De Guzman appealed to the people to observe search and destroy mosquito larvae, self-protection by wearing long sleeves, long pants, seek early consultation when a person is suffering high fever.

She also reminded the people to say “No to fogging” unless there is really an outbreak because fogging is hazardous to health and if an area is fogged even without an incident, mosquitoes become resistant. – EVA

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