SouthCot health officials advocate “Oplan-Kulob” vs. dengue

Health officials in South Cotabato called on the mobilization of people at the barangay level to eradicate the still growing number of dengue cases in the province.
The Integrated Provincial Health Office is still banking on the massive implementation of “Oplan-Kulob” as one of the effective strategies to “Search and destroy” the breeding grounds of mosquitoes which cause the dengue virus.
Jose Baroquillo, the mosquito-borne diseases coordinator of the IPHO said, there should be stronger engagements in the grassroots level since no matter how we advocate for this strategy, people are not doing anything.
The IPHO reports that dengue cases and deaths continue to rise.
As of July 30, there were already 4172 dengue cases reported by the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) which is 177% higher compared to the same period last year.
To date, dengue has claimed 22 lives.
Baroquillo said, there is a need to change the health-seeking behavior of the populace so as not to increase the number of deaths in the province.
based on the data from PESU, there were more deaths among adults ages 21 years old to 70 years old. This age group has 14 death cases, while ages 10 y.o old to 19 y.o and those ages 10 years old and below have 4 death cases each.
Records also show that patients ages 30 and below sought early medical attention compared to those adults ages 30 and above.
Following the release of the Quick Response Fund of the province, the Task Force Kontra Dengue headed by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), and the Provincial Information Office started to go down to the barangay level to monitor the mobilization of the barrio folks.
“We need to closely monitor them to sustain the campaign,” Baroquillo said.