By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

After the Bacolod City Health Office (CHO) recently revealed a 106.1 percent increase in the number of dengue fever cases in the city, Provincial Health Office (PHO) head, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, reported the number of dengue fever cases across Negros Occidental has risen by 67 percent compared to last year.
Based on data taken from January 1 to August 24 of this year, they recorded a total of 6,641 cases in the province, up from the 4,327 reported during the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the PHO’s recent morbidity week, a weekly report documenting issues related to various diseases, showed an additional 398 new cases.
Kabankalan City recorded the highest number of dengue-related cases with 972, followed by Bago City with 597.
PHO data also noted a total of 49 dengue-related deaths.
Despite the increase, however, Tumimbang said it is an overall downtrend.
“It is impossible to eliminate it but, at least, we can control it,” he said.
Following the report pertaining to dengue fever cases in Bacolod City, CHO Environment and Sanitation Division head, Dr. Grace Tan, warned, if communities continue to ignore their surroundings, there is a big possibility the number of cases in the city will continue to rise.
Tan appealed for the public to observe the “4 o’clock habit” and encouraged everyone to clean their surroundings at 4:00 p.m. in an effort to prevent mosquito breeding places as a means of combating the spread of dengue fever.
The city earlier appropriated P17.8 million to be utilized by the CHO to prevent the spread of dengue fever./DGB, WDJ