Iloilo City records clustering of dengue cases, hotspot area

The Iloilo City Health Office (CHO) is monitoring five barangays in the city’s Lapuz district where a clustering of dengue cases has been recorded, while a village in Arevalo district has been identified as a hotspot area.

There is a clustering of cases when a village has three or more cases in four consecutive weeks, while a hotspot has an increase or clustering of cases in four weeks and one or more deaths.

Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, assistant city health officer, yesterday identified barangays Bo. Obrero with seven cases, Sinikway and Don Esteban with four cases each, and Rizal Sur and Mansaya with three cases each, have a clustering of cases in Lapuz.

Meanwhile, the village of So-oc in Arevalo is tagged as a hotspot area with three cases and one fatality.

“We are checking in the area to determine if there are stagnant waters. We continue with our misting. Hopefully, it will be continuous since it is not effective when it rains,” he said in a media interview.

From January 1 until February 2, the city had 48 cases — 12 active, 29 already recovered, and two deaths.

Fortuna called the two deaths in early January “alarming.” He identified the fatalities as a 15-yearold male from So-oc and a 28-year-old male from Mandurriao district’s Barangay Calahunan.

He reminded the public not to ignore the early signs and symptoms of the disease and immediately seek consultation as part of the 4S strategy which includes seeking and destroying breeding places, self-protection, and support for fogging during an outbreak.

The 28-year-old victim experienced a fever on January 22, sought consultation on the following day due to general weakness and died due to complications two days later, he said.

“The earlier we consult, the earlier we get hydrated and provided with medicine, the faster the recovery,” he said.

Apart from dengue, the CHO also monitors the increasing cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), now at 139 as of February 2.

Of the cases, 95 have recovered, 40 are active and four are new cases.

Fortuna said that they are sending the specimen to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for a confirmatory test, but clinically, they are already HFMD just by looking at the symptoms and distribution of rashes.

“This is common among the age group 10 years old and below. In our case, the majority of our cases are one to 10 years old with 118 cases,” he said.

Fortuna said they are looking at the opening of face-to-face classes and day-care centers as among the factors for the spread of the disease.

He said parents are advised not to send their children to school and have them isolated if they have symptoms such as slight fever, body malaise, sore throat, and lesions.

“We are into massive information dissemination. Our health workers are conducting health education not just on dengue but also HFMD,” he added.