BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) in Negros Occidental ordered all hospitals to activate their dengue fast lanes. Dengue cases are rising.
All those showing dengue symptoms or already diagnosed with dengue should be given priority for treatment, said Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, PHO head.
He assured Negrenses dengue cases have not yet reached the level necessitating the declaration of an outbreak.
From Jan. 1 to May 21, Negros Occidental recorded 670 cases – 278.83 percent increase from the 177 cases recorded in the same period last year.
The PHO already activated the anti-dengue task force to deal with the rising cases.
Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness that could sometimes be fatal. Its carriers are day-biting mosquitoes.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea / vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rashes.
For severe dengue, the warning signs to look out for are: severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in vomit, fatigue, and restlessness.
Dengue is caused by day-biting mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus that breed in clean, stagnant water./PN
