State of calamity declared in Davao Sur due to rising dengue cases

The province of Davao del Sur was placed under a state of calamity on Thursday after a rising number of dengue cases were reported, a GMA News flash report said. The state of calamity was declared after the Davao del Sur provincial health office recorded 10 deaths due to dengue and 600 other cases in a span of six months, the report said.

In Digos City alone, nine people have already died due to dengue, while 253 other cases of the mosquito-related disease have been recorded. Earlier, the Digos city government has also earlier issued an executive order declaring state of calamity over the area. The declaration of a state of calamity over the province enables the provincial government to use its calamity fund in combating the disease common during the rainy season. The World Health Organization website says dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world. Symptoms range from a mild fever, to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rash. There are no specific antiviral medicines for dengue, the WHO website said. — ACC, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV