DINGRAS, Ilocos Norte, July 11 — Due to the outbreak of dengue cases here, this town has been declared under the state of calamity, Mayor Erdio Valenzuela said.
The mayor said the declaration was urgent after the municipal health authorities had confirmed a total of 66 dengue cases and one of the afflicted victims had died from the virus caused by mosquito bite.
He said that the number of dengue cases in Dingras had abruptly risen from 16 to 66 cases in just two weeks.
Since then, the municipal government continued to conduct massive cleanliness and fumigation drive to prevent the further spread of the disease, Valenzuela added.
“We have mobilized our village officials and barangay health workers to spearhead the cleanliness drive. Our Municipal Health Unit is also on top of the situation to arrest this problem,” he further said.
He appealed to the residents to practice the DOH campaign dubbed as ‘4 o’clock pm daily habit’, a strategy that mobilizes every household to take time out at 4 p.m. daily by cleaning their respective surroundings in an effort to “search and destroy all possible mosquito-breeding places”.
With the declaration of the town under the state of calamity, the mayor assured they have enough funds to help contain the mosquito-borne disease.
Over the past two years, the province of Ilocos Norte had maintained a zero dengue casualty but only last month of June this year that two fatalities of dengue virus were recorded in the province, said Dr. Josephine Rueda, provincial health officer.
The casualties were residents of Dingras and Solsona towns. (tri-media report)
