This early, dengue has claimed four and its sting has hassled 688 lives in the opening five months of 2013 to date, data from the Provincial Health Office showed. The figures also highlight the need for a more serious community effort to swat the disease off Boholanos’ most recent scourges, hints the PHO who continue to monitor and relentlessly buzz the alarm against the disease. Dengue hemorrhagic fever, or dengue fever, which aedes Aegypti mosquito bites cause, has claimed 24 lives in 2012. That time too, the PHO recorded 2,475 cases of dengue affectation among Boholanos, the figure could even be lower considering those people who resort to traditional medicines, which is common among Boholanos. But based on the compiled records from hospitals all over the province, the 2,475 cases and the 24 deaths should be a wake-up call to barangays who are in a perfect position to drive the threat for good, according to PHO Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot.

The statement also fits into the observation that the Department of Health (DOH)-launched Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue (ABKD) did not get through in Bohol yet. Through ABKD, the DOH calls for a unified barangay effort to make ABaKaDa calls for regular weekly clean-up drives spearheaded by the barangay leaders and includes the active participation of community volunteers, civil society and others in government. “ABaKaDa seeks to reinforce the country’s drive against dengue by going back to the basics of comprehensive vector control supported by environmental manipulation and modification,” Health Secretary Enrique Ona said during its launch last year. According to sources from the DOH, the campaign urges families, barangay leaders and youth councils (Sangguniang Kabataan) to do community clean-up drives and to aggressively seek and clean out possible mosquito breeding sites every week especially in areas that continue to experience clustering of dengue cases.

On the other hand, school authorities are also urged to implement search and destroy operations at the school premises at least every week before classes break on a weekend. Other stakeholders, such as owners or managers of business establishments/malls and construction sites, are also strongly encouraged to initiate and sustain their own clean-up activities in their areas. In Bohol, even the Provincial Government has initiated efforts to advance anti-dengue activities including a radio plug through a dengue jingle, which local stations regularly play during rainy months. But despite all these, PHO notes high cases reported from Tagbilaran City at 148. Other than Tagbilaran, also noted with high incidence of dengue are Loon (102), Talibon (52), Dauis (41), Panglao (31), Jagna (32), Tubigon (24), Getafe (19), Baclayon (17), and Calape (15). Except for Alicia and Dagohoy, all other towns in Bohol had at least one dengue case recorded in the opening five months of 2013. Over these, PHOP in Bohol continues to call on communities to aggressively pursue ABKD especially this June, which the government declares as the National Dengue Awareness Month.