No dengue outbreak in Davao, says CHO

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 Aug)—There is no dengue outbreak yet in Davao City despite recording 3,773 cases so far this year, a City Health Office official said.

Personnel of the City Health Office conducts fogging operation as part of an anti-dengue measure in Davao City. Mindanews file photo

Melodina Babante, CHO Tropical Disease Prevention and Control Unit coordinator, said on Thursday that there is no need to call a dengue outbreak, citing factors such as population proportion to the recorded deaths and the city’s readiness to combat the disease.

As of the latest data, from January to August 17, 2024, the city recorded 3,773 cases and 25 deaths. During the same period last year, the city recorded 4,186 cases and 36 deaths.

“Nilapas ta sa epidemic threshold na ginabantayan namo every week, but that’s on the [other] weeks. This week nibaba na pod… Pero no worries as of now,” Babante said in a press conference at the City Mayor’s Office.

The city’s “epidemic threshold,” the certain number of cases for it to become an epidemic, is more than 10,000 dengue cases within a month, last recorded on 2010. Babante said despite that, they have not declared a dengue outbreak in the city at that time.

She said barangays who had at least one dengue case reached 170 this year, the CHO said. Davao City has 182 barangays.

According to CHO’s latest data, Barangay Talomo has the most cases so far with 168, followed by Buhangin with 162, Bucana with 157, Ma-a with 114, and Tibungco with 111.

Other barangays that had a large number of cases include Calinan with 107, Catalunan Grande with 106, Bunawan with 100, Matina Crossing with 93, and Toril with 81.

Babante also said that only 12 barangays had no cases so far this year, “mostly in Marilog District and some barangays with more buildings than communities.”

In a separate interview on August 19, Dr. Miguel Ababon, CHO officer-in-charge, said they had intensified surveillance on monitoring possible dengue hotspots in the city.

He also said the Barangay Mosquito-Borne Viral Disease Task Forces must be empowered as well.

Babante said 52 barangays now have the mosquito-borne task force as of August 2024, from just five as of December 2023.

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes dengue as a viral infection transmitted through mosquito bites. The disease has various serotypes, including dengue virus types (DENV) 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Among the signs exhibited by a dengue victim include sudden onset of high fever that may last from two to seven days, joint and muscle pain, pain behind the eyes, weakness, skin rashes, nose bleeding when fever starts to subside, abdominal pain, vomiting of coffee-colored matter, dark-colored stools, and difficulty of breathing. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)