CamSur implements intensified province-wide measures against Dengue

ANTI-DENGUE DRIVE. Camarines Sur Gov. Migz Villafuerte through the Provincial Health Office and in pursuit of the DOH declaration of a national dengue epidemic, has initiated the Barangay Kontra Dengue through its Search and Destroy Operations by mobilizing the communities in the province with high significance of dengue cases to take action in the clean-up drive to eliminate possible breeding grounds of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes. The clean-up drive will be done for 9 Fridays and will be monitored by health and sanitation officials and personnel. jmts/rbmjr/mmec082019 with photos from fb_GovMigzVillafuerte

“Dengue Out Now!”

This is the battle cry of Camarines Sur in its active, consistent, and province-wide efforts against Dengue.

As soon as the Department of Health, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, declared the National Dengue Epidemic on August 6, 2019, the provincial government under Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” R. Villafuerte has also raised the Blue Alert Status in Camarines Sur. Along with this, the Emergency Operation Center was activated to intensify the monitoring of interventions in the province against Dengue.

The province wasted no time as it has immediately setup and activated an Infolink System among members of the C/MDRRMO’s, Rural Health Units, and EOC to facilitate the reporting of Dengue cases and monitoring of interventions. The Infolink also serves as the venue for coordination between offices and agencies concerned with the Dengue Epidemic.

But the consistency of the efforts of the province goes way past the declaration of the National Dengue epidemic.

As early as July 26, 2019, the Governor has already convened the Provincial DRRMC with the chiefs of hospitals for an emergency meeting for response actions of the rising cases of Dengue in the province. The Provincial Health Office was also instructed by the governor to provide an inventory of its medicines and to assess its capacity to respond to Dengue cases.

On July 30, 2019, seven days before the declaration of the National Dengue Epidemic, Governor Migz has already issued a memorandum to all Municipal and City Mayors to conduct 24/7 monitoring of Dengue cases in their areas of responsibility, establish a blood bank directory strictly for the use of Dengue patients, conduct an information and education campaign on 4S Kontra Dengue, and implement massive Search and Destroy Operations for eight consecutive Fridays starting on August 9, 2019. Under the Search and Destroy Operations, breeding grounds of mosquitos will be identified, cleaned up, and destroyed, if necessary, to prevent mosquito growth. Meanwhile, the 4S Kontra Dengue, which stands for (1) Search and Destroy breeding places, (2) Seek early consultation, (3) Self-protection measures, and (4) Say yes to fogging in times of impending outbreak, will be relayed to every household under the local chief executive’s area of responsibility.

The first province-wide Search and Destroy Operations held on August 9, 2019 was a success, with 207 participating barangays from 30 municipalities of the province. The operations were also duly monitored by five teams from the Environment, Disaster Management, and Emergency Response Office (EDMERO) deployed to validate the activity in the barangay level.

A technical team comprised of personnel from EDMERO and Dr. Eric Raborar, a volunteer consultant from the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital, visited and evaluated the capacity of the provincial and municipal hospitals in Camarines Sur to accommodate patients and respond to Dengue cases. This 3-day visit from August 10-12, 2019 resulted to the technical team’s recommendations for the improvement of the health services in the hospitals.

On August 14, 2019, the provincial government, together with the Philippine National Police, Environmental Management Bureau-Provincial Environmental Management Unit, Department of Education Camarines Sur, Iriga and Naga City, and the five district engineering offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways gathered for a coordination meeting. The participants agreed on an action plan to manage and destroy mosquito breeding places focusing on vulcanizing and junkshops and schools. The representatives also agreed to implement appropriate measures and response based on the Checklist for Epidemic Preparedness and Response by the Office of Civil Defense through Memorandum No. 567. This coordination meeting was followed by a visit of Undersecretary Marvel Clavecilla, Presidential Adviser for Bicol Affairs, on August 15, 2019 for a situational briefing on the Dengue cases in the Bicol Region.

Last Friday, August 16, 2019, was the second of the eight consecutive Search and Destroy Operations. Through EDMERO, the province has specifically focused its monitoring of the Search and Destroy Operations in Junk Shops and Vulcanizing Shops all over the province. Not only did EDMERO monitor the said operations, they also informed and educated the owners and employees of the shops how to prevent mosquitos from breeding within their business place. Overall, 99 vulcanizing and junk shops were visited by the province from 26 municipalities.