Twenty-eight (28) individuals were tested positive of filariasis during a Field Test Strip (FTS) conducted by the Mosquito-borne Disease (MBD) Surveillance Team led by Program Coordinator Jose Barroquillo Jr. in 2 municipalities in South Cotabato.
Barroquillo disclosed in his report that 25 were tested positive and treated of filariasis at Sitios Falan and Coong in Barangay Ma’an, T’boli, of which 1 case was deferred treatment due to pregnancy.
The MBD Team used 131 strips during the FTS and also conducted Vector Mapping using Carabao Bait Trap at the 2 sitios. Vectors identified by the MBD Team were filarial, malaria and Japanese encephalitis.
Meanwhile, 3 positive cases of filaria were likewise identified and treated by the MBD Team during a FTS test conducted at Sitios New Tupi and Tinugas in Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu last November 18-22, 2019.
As part of disease prevention, 50 Long-lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITN) were distributed by the MBD Team to Ma’an T’boli and Ned, Lake Sebu, respectively. IEC and health promotion initiatives and meeting with barangay officials and sitio leaders were likewise conducted by the MBD Team.
The team encountered difficult terrain due to heavy rainfall and sitios which were inaccessible hampered their operation.
Barroquillo added that after their operation, the next steps they will implement in said areas include the conduct of indoor residual spraying, clearing of streams and creeks that are possible mosquito-breeding sites, distribution of LLITN to sitios possibly affected by filarial cases, continue massive information/health promotion campaign in sitios and conduct nocturnal blood examination, filariasis test strip and vector mapping in nearby sitios and intensify monitoring of Barangays Ma’an, T’boli and Ned, Lake Sebu.
