DOH monitoring dengue, measles

ASIDE from coronavirus disease (Covid – 19), the Department of Health – Cordillera (DOH – CAR) is also closely monitoring a surge in dengue and measles.

Doctor Amelita Pangilinan, regional director of DOH-CAR said the public should continue to be aware of other health diseases particularly during this rainy season.

“Based on our statistics, dengue went down by us much as 70% as of June 2 compared to the same period last year and we are also having our continuous surveillance of 28 plus diseases,” Pangilnan said.

DOH – CAR reiterates the practice of proper hygiene such as hand washing, wearing of long sleeves, seeking out the breeding sites of mosquitoes particularly where water accumulates to prevent cases of dengue.

The ‘search and destroy’ strategy has proven to be the most effective way to combat dengue according to DOH.

“Aside from the present health crisis or the coronavirus, DOH is primarily monitoring our dengue cases to which we hope that the vaccination process will continue because we do not want that our vaccine preventable diseases like measles will have an upsurge,” Pangilinan stated.

Signs and symptoms of dengue are sudden, high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, skin rash, which appears two to five days after the onset of fever.

Meanwhile, symptoms of measles generally appear about seven to 14 days after a person is infected. Two or three days after symptoms begins, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth of a patient with Koplik spots, an early sign of measles infection.

“The vaccination process is currently ongoing at our health centers including our school based immunization, our cervical cancer and other diseases,” Pangilinan added.