Caloocan takes preventive measures vs dengue

Local government officials in Caloocan City have started taking steps to prevent the spread of dengue during the hot summer months. The city government noted that while rains are not likely to fall during the summer, dengue incidents rise at this time of year, radio dzBB’s Allan Gatus reported. City officials said they will prioritize urging residents to keep their surroundings clean and dry to prevent dengue-carrying mosquitoes from spreading the disease. Residents will be asked during the summer to particularly make sure stagnant water does not accumulate in containers like flower vases and barrels, the same report said. Health authorities had earlier classified dengue as a year-round threat, and no longer a rainy-season disease. In March, the DOH advised local governments in Metro Manila to take action against dengue. [See: DOH calls for early drive vs dengue in NCR barangays] The DOH particularly urged barangay health officials in the NCR to implement an anti-dengue drive as the cases in the region went up by more than 100 percent in the first two months of the year. In 2010, more than 135,000 dengue cases were reported, the worst dengue outbreak recorded in the country in the last 10 years. And every year, the NCR records the highest number of dengue cases in the country. However, for this year, a high number of cases was already reported in January and February: 3,640 dengue cases in Metro Manila alone, a 106 percent increase from the 1,866 cases recorded in the same period in 2010. Twenty-nine deaths were already recorded this year. The cities with the most number of dengue cases are: