ffii*rs Insight I
Duque: DOH on top
of dengue outbreak
BY WET{DELL VIGIUA
HEALIH Secretary Francisco
Duque III on Monday niglt assuted
lawrnakers whose tegions were af-
fected by tlre deogue oudlreak that his
departrnent is on top of fte situatiot
About a dozen congressmen
led by majority leader Ferdinand
Martin Romualdez sought a private
audience with Duque to discuss
immediate and long-term solutions
to.the dengue outbreak.
Romualdez's province of Lelte
was included in the list of areas
that have exceeded the alert thresh-
old for dengue.
"The dengue scourge has af-
fected regioo eight, patticulady
the Leyte and Samar provinces.
We are very, very fortunate that
Sec, Duque is here at the office of
the House majority leader so we
invited the membets of dre Region
8 bloc and as well as those from
Iloilo and Zamboanga Sibugay
Hrrtrs
where this scourge has also been
yery, very much felt," Romualdez
said in a statement.
Duque committed to dowoload
to the provinces at the soonest
time available resources to help
dengue patients who ate bwdened
by the cost of hospitalization.
"Sec Duque has endeavored to
suppott each and wery congress-
man's requiremens to sar,ne off the
increase or the spike of dre scourge
not just through informative ta lLs and
discussions here, but with achral coo-
crete initiatives to supporth address-
ing the problern" ' Romualdez said.
Romualdez said Drique appealed
for understanding since "there is
no medicine effective to cute a viral
disease such as dengue (and) onty
tlrough commurrity effot can we
win t}le war against dengue."
Duque advised congressmen to
encoutage local government units
to enter into agreements with
public and private hospita.ls in ot-
* pAq4-
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
der to widen tle reach of medical
assistance ptovided by the health
departrnent.
Aside ftom financial support,
Duque also committed to make
ar,-ailable machines. and chemicals
needed by LGUs for mosquito
foggingoperations in their ateas
of jwisdiction.
'qWe agree with Sec Duque. The
best way to 6ght dengue is to seatch
and destroy mosquito brceding pJac
es. At the foreftont of this campatgn
is still *re LGU," Romualdez said,
Romualdez said congressmen
ate now studying options on hovr
to infuse morc budgetary support
to the DOH to help t}re depatt-
ment contain the epidemic and
assist dengue patients,
"All tle congressmen pleseot
agreed to help Sec. Duque get
more budget for the anti-dengue
campaign. Our health departrnent
deserves all the suppott ftom
Congress if we are to win the war
ea,
against dengue," he said.
V4rile the DOH declated a Na-
tional Dengue Alert last July 15,
Duque asswed the congtessmen
that t}te number of dengue cases
has been on a downwatd trepd.
The DOH eatlier announced
that the following tegions have
already exceeded the epidemic
threshold: Mimaropa, rWestern
Visayas, Central Visayas, and
Northern Mindanao.
The following regions have
exceeded the alett thteshold:
Ilocos Region, Cagay4r \IalleY,
Calabatz on, Bicol, Eastern Visayas,
Zamboatga Peninsula, Davao,
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao, and Cordil-
lera Administrative Region.
The epidemic threshold is the
number of cases required fot an
epidemic to be declared while the
alert t-lrreshold is the nrimbet of
cases that sounds a.tr early watning
for a potential epidemic.