The Dengue Chronicles

Dengue fever, an infectious tropical fever contracted through mosquito bites used to occur only during rainy season.

In the Philippines though, it has become an all-year round threat. In the first six months of the year 2008, there were 15,061 people afflicted by dengue with 172 deaths. Manila has the highest incidence rate, followed by Quezon City, Caloocan and Pasig.

Even at the start of the 2008, records at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila have shown that there has been 152 percent increase in the number of dengue cases compared to the same period in 2007.

Dengue also hit the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Negros Occidental, Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental. Again, compared with 2007, in Negros Occidental, dengue cases have increased by 50 percent while in Northern Mindanao, there was a 69 percent increase.

A disease of poverty

Dengue fever is a disease attributable to poverty. The National Center for National Disease Prevention and Control said that there was a direct proportion between population density and dengue.

People from congested communities, where mosquitoes can easily find breeding place on worn-out tires, stagnant drainage and dirty surroundings, are more prone to this disease.

Sadly, detection of dengue usually comes late due to financial constraints of the people affected especially with the very expensive cost of health care even in the government hospitals. These contribute to the increase in the mortality of dengue victims yearly.

Sound public health care system

Even with the few existing laws that mandate the Local Government Units and other government agencies to involve themselves in disease control programs such as the Code on Sanitation (1975), Local Government Code (1993), Ecological Solid Waste Management (2000), and the Clean Water Act (2004) and the National Dengue Control Program, communicable diseases remain to be the top leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the country.

The worsening threat of dengue fever is but a manifestation of government neglect of the public health care system.

Fighting dengue fever requires more than stopgap solutions. It requires a government that prioritizes the health of its people - meaning a public health care that is comprehensive and responsive to our needs and with adequate budget allocation.

First and foremost, dengue is a preventable illness.

Moreover, the steps to prevent cointracting dengue are very simple and easy to follow. With a sound and pro-active public health care system, Dengue will be easier to combat. On the other hand, it also requires mobilization and active participation of the people in the communities.

Launching campaigns that include awareness raising and education is also an effective solution. Organizations within communities should actively cooperate with other local agencies to form measures in prevention and management of dengue.

Again, dengue is a preventable disease and as we all know, as in every disease, prevention is better than cure.#