ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has assured constituents that everything is under control relative to rapid spread of dengue fever and Zika virus in some villages in the city.
Mabilog said there is no need yet for placing the city under a state of calamity following reports that dengue cases had reached over 1,000 cases as of September 15 with three deaths.
In the province of Iloilo, dengue cases already reached 6,808 with 15 deaths as of September 10 or some 406 percent increase in cases from the 2015 record of 1,348 cases with 7 deaths.
Zika cases, on the other hand, escalated to seven, with the first case reported last week of August.
But Mabilog said the city is ready for such eventuality, and assessment is being done by the City Health Office and the Department of Health (DOH) regional office.
He said as soon as the assessment is completed and verified, the declaration will be made.
Under the National Disaster Coordinating Council Memorandum Order 4-1998, when two or more villages are affected by a disaster, the City Council, upon recommendation of the local chief executive, can declare the entire municipality or city under a state of calamity.
DOH Undersecretary Eric Tayag, for his part, said Wednesday that the health department has sent quick response teams to gather more information about the new cases, as well as to support affected areas in the drive against Zika.
The first confirmed case of Zika in Iloilo was reported in Barangay Benedicto, Jaro district early September. Three more cases were reported in the same barangay, while one was reported in San Juan, Molo, and two in Sto. Niño, Arevalo, according to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
All mentioned cases had no history of travel to other countries within a month preceding onset of the illness. All presented with skin rashes accompanied by joint pains, fever or conjunctivitis and are expected to have recovered by this time, Tayag said.
He said that the best antidote to the Zika is cleanliness of surroundings and demolition of mosquito breeding places through the 4S strategy. These include search and destroy breeding places, self protection using insect repellent, seek early consultation for skin rashes and fever, and say yes to fogging when there is an impending outbreak.
