The Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC), through the recommendation of the Department of Health, maintained its “Blue Alert” with prevailing hazards of the southwest monsoon and with Dengue cases being recorded in the region reaching the critical level.
DOH-Cordillera Regional Director Ferdinand Benbenen recommended the Dengue heightened alert to the CRDRRMC during the virtual coordination meeting of the council’s Response Cluster on Thursday (August 1).
Office of Civil Defense Regional Director and CRDRRMC Chairperson Albert Mogol issued a memorandum for the “Blue Alert” to ensure a heightened monitoring and warning, bio-surveillance, preparedness and response readiness for dengue.
DOH-CAR data from January 1 to July 27, show 9,827 dengue cases recorded in the region, which is a 169 percent increase compared to the 3,652 cases recorded during the same period last year.
There are also clustering of cases (with 3 or more) recorded in 319 barangays in the region. Moreover, 19 death cases were recorded during the monitoring period, compared to the six cases recorded in 2023.
Per geographical area, Benguet has the most number of cases with 3,745, followed by Baguio City with 2,388 and Mountain Province with 1,464. Abra logged 178 cases, Apayao with 535, Ifugao with 512, and Kalinga with 565. There were also 440 non-CAR residents who were admitted to health facilities in the region.
According to DOH-CAR, all Cordillera provinces including Baguio City recorded more cases in the last two weeks (July 14-27) with 728 compared to the period June 30 to July 13.
Cordillera RDRRMC Chairperson and OCD – CAR Regional Director Albert Mogol calls for a continuing unity for a pro – active approach in ensuring utmost preparedness and response readiness to hazards that the prevailing Habagat may bring, as well as on responding to the alarming increase in dengue cases, especially in the past weeks.
The DOH-CAR already deployed vector logistics and activated a Dengue Task Force and assigned Dr. Jennifer Joyce Pira as the medical coordinator for the Dengue prevention and control program. It was deployed to Mountain Province on July 30 to August 1.
For public health advisory, the DOH-CAR reiterated the 4S against Dengue, namely search and destroy possible Dengue mosquito breeding site (which include clean-up drives, getting rid of bottle caps and covering water container, etc.), self-protection (wearing of long sleeves and pants, use of mosquito repellant), seek early consultation and say yes to fogging, only if there is an outbreak in cases.
Mogol enjoined the RDRRMC Response Cluster member agencies, provincial/municipal/city DRRM councils and other stakeholders for unified actions and measures against dengue mosquito borne disease, especially on the protection of the school children inside learning institutions and on their way to and from their respective schools. As teams of field researchers from Saint Louis Sacred Heart Hospital gather Mosquito larvae samples in stagnant water areas in Barangays Lourdes and Dominican Hill identified as hot spots for Dengue cases. Dave Leprozo Jr.
