Dengue 'hot spot' Kidapawan City boosts drive against illness

Officials in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato are intensifying their campaign against dengue given that the city recorded 277 dengue cases of the illness in the first five months of 2013. Assistant city health officer Ted Calica said in a Philippine Information Agency report that the disease killed at least five children aged 4 to 10. The PIA report also said that five villages in Kidapawan were considered dengue "hot spots" after the recorded high dengue incidence. These hot spots include Poblacion (95 cases); Singao with 31; Balindog and Lanao with 17 each; and Kalasuyan with 10., Also, data from the Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office showed Kidapawan City to have the highest number of dengue cases in North Cotabato, with M’lang town having 245 cases; Kabacan has 155; and Midsayap has 100. Calica said that health workers, especially those from high-risk barangays will be instructed to strengthen their efforts. The communities must also do their part. The Department of Health considers dengue a year-round threat, though it is during the rainy season when dengue-carrying mosquitoes are likely to breed. Health authorities have advised the public to keep their surroundings clean and dry to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. — DVM, GMA News