Marikina only city in Metro Manila with fewer dengue cases

Although the total number of dengue cases in Metro Manila has doubled, Marikina City has fewer dengue cases this year compared to last year. From January to early August this year, only Marikina has reported a drop in the number of dengue cases throughout the National Capital Region (NCR). As of August 6, Marikina only reported 209 dengue cases in their city, a far cry from Quezon City's 3,034 cases. The 209 cases from January 1 to August 6 is eight percent lower than the 219 cases recorded in the same period last year. Year-round anti-dengue campaign Marikina City health officer Dr. Honielyn Fernando said the city health office is glad that the number of dengue cases dropped this year because the city was one of the areas with the most number of dengue cases last year. Fernando said the city worked hard to implement their anti-dengue campaign not just before the onset of the rainy season but all throughout the year. "We religiously follow the (anti-dengue) efforts of the Department of Health, not only during the rainy seasons," she told GMA News Online on Friday. "January pa lang nagsimula na po kaming mag-meeting with the barangay captains para simulan na ang education drive at clean-up campaign." She said one of the things the Marikina health office focused on is educating households about the importance of cleanliness in preventing the spread of dengue. "Napansin namin na dito sa Marikina, sa bahay naman nakukuha nung mga bata 'yung dengue, hindi sa eskwelahan, kaya malaking bagay talaga na maturuan 'yung mga nanay kung paano maglinis ng bahay nila, para walang pamugaran 'yung mga lamok," she said. Barangay captains greatly helped in the clean-up the surroundings and dissemination of information about dengue symptoms and prevention, she added. She said effective dengue prevention is more than just cleaning the surroundings and eliminating dengue-carrying mosquitoes. "I think importante na 'yung attitude ng tao 'yung baguhin. Minsan 'yung mga nanay, hindi nakikinig sa mga lecture namin about dengue, pero kung paulit-ulit 'yung lecture at buong taon may ganyan, matututunan din nila 'yan at makakatulong sa pag-iwas sa dengue," she said. Synchronized action Health officials from the National Capital Region (NCR) held a meeting at the Department of Health on Thursday to discuss its plans to combat the continuous rise of dengue cases in the Metro. Fernando said the DOH, through the Metro Manila health offices, is planning to do a synchronized action to prevent and control dengue in NCR. DOH will do simultaneous health education promotion, clean-up drives, and preventive fogging around Metro Manila next week, she said. She added that health officials are not "pointing fingers" at one another because of the rise in the number of dengue cases in Metro Manila. "Hindi na importante sa amin kung bakit tumaas this year. Maaring nagkulang sa paglilinis o pag-inform sa mga tao. Ang mahalaga, maaksyunan na at hindi na mangyari ito ulit next year," she said. During the meeting, Fernando said Marikina was lauded for the decrease in the number of dengue cases. "I was very happy with the result. Hindi naman sa nagyayabang, pero malinis kasi talaga dito sa Marikina," she said. Nevertheless, Fernando said the Marikina will not be complacent in its efforts to fight dengue. "Kahit na mababa, dengue pa rin 'yan. May mga pasyente pa rin, hindi naman zero. Patuloy pa rin kaming maglilinis para mabawasan pa ang kaso ng dengue," she said. - VVP, GMA News