Dengue fever patients in a Philippine hospital (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The health sectors in Thailand andthe Philippines are working to deal with dengue fever outbreaks, which havebeen a pressing issue since the beginning of 2019.
Dengue cases in the Philippines kept surging to reach nearly116, with 491 deaths from January 1 to July 6, the country’s Department ofHealth said on July 20.
The most affected area is Western Visayas region, which hasthe greatest number of reported cases so far this year at 15,826, followed byCalabarzon with 12,780 cases, Soccsksargen 9,572 cases, Northern Mindanao 9,354cases, and Central Visayas 9,259 cases.
On July 15, the Philippine government declared a nationaldengue alert, urging regional health offices to step up surveillance, casemanagement and outbreak response in primary health facilities and hospitals, aswell as through community and school-based health education campaigns.
The country is undertaking a nationwide public informationcampaign in response to what it calls as the "4-S method", whichstands for "search and destroy" mosquito-breeding sites, employ"self-protection measures", "seek early consultation", and"support fogging or spraying" in areas where an increase in cases isregistered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak.
Also on July 20, Thai Ministry of Public Health said it willfind measures to curb the spread of the disease, as the number of infections hasreached 49,174 since the start of this year.
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he has instructed statehealth agencies to place dengue surveillance system nationwide, and to reportthe number of new cases.
Local authorities and volunteers across Thailand will spraychemicals to kill mosquitoes, said Anutin, adding that residents are advised todestroy mosquito-breeding grounds in and around their houses.-VNA
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