Batanes governor appeals to DOH for help in dengue outbreak

Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco on Saturday said she will ask the Department of Health for assistance so the province can deal with the rising number of dengue cases.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Cayco said a dengue outbreak has already been declared in the municipality of Itbayat.

She said there have been two fatalities so far, a two-year-old child in Itbayat, and another person in Basco.

The two-year-old child was not brought to the hospital right away. When the child was finally brought to the hospital, there was internal bleeding already.

Cayco said the same was the case in Basco. The person was first brought to the hospital but since the test result showed negative for dengue, the patient was brought home. However, after a few days, the patient became worse and was found to have internal bleeding when brought to the hospital again.

The governor said Itbayat only has a primary hospital and does not have the necessary equipment to treat dengue patients.

"Humihingi kami ng tulong sa DOH na mabigyan kami ng kagamitan lalo na sa Itbayat dahil primary hospital iyon, para hindi na kailangang i-airlift ang mga patients sa Basco," she said.

Cayco said dengue cases have been decreasing now in Itbayat, but the number is rising in Basco. There are 30 dengue patients at the moment in Basco, she said. The number of dengue cases began rising in July, Cayco added.

The governor said they are implementing the search and destroy strategy to prevent dengue-carrying mosquitoes from multiplying.

She added that the Department of Science and Technology sent a team to Itbayat to see what assistance it can offer.

Cayco said the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Northern Luzon Command, the Philippine Air Force, and the Philippine Coast Guard have assisted in the airlifting of dengue patients from Itbayat to Basco where they could be treated at the Basco General Hospital.

Otherwise, patients had to be brought by boat to Basco, a two-and-a-half hour ride. —KG, GMA News