DENGUE FEVER is an acute infectious disease characterized by sudden onset of fever of 38 C and above, lasting for 5 days or more. This is accompanied by muscle or joint pains, appearance of petechiae of the arms, body, feet and legs, positive tourniquet test and/or thrombocytopenia or low platelet count of less than 150,000/cu.mm.

Aedes aegypti, the transmitter of the disease, is a day-biting mosquito which lays eggs in clear and stagnant water found in flower vases, cans, rain barrels, old rubber tires, etc. The adult mosquitoes rest in dark places of the house.

Sudden onset of high fever which may last 2 to 7 days. Joint & muscle pain and pain behind the eyes. Skin rashes - Maculo-papular rash or red tiny spots on the skin called Petechiae Weakness Nose bleeding when fever starts to subside Abdominal pain Vomiting of coffee-colored matter Dark-colored stools

Cover water drums and water pails at all times to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Replace water in flower vases once a week. Clean all water containers once a week. Scrub the sides well to remove eggs of mosquitoes sticking to the sides. Clean gutters of leaves and debris so that rain water will not collect as breeding places of mosquitoes. Old tires used as roof support should be punctured or cut to avoid accumulation of water. Collect and dispose all unusable tin cans, jars, bottles and other items that can collect and hold water

A total of 31 cases of Dengue Fever was reported in Calasiao, Pangasinan from January to June 30 this year. There were no cases reported during the months of February, March and April. A total of 10 cases were reported for January. There were no deaths reported

Fourteen (14) out of the total twenty-four (24) barangays of Calasiao have reported cases. The 31 Dengue Fever cases reported up to the 30th day of June this year shows 5 cases in Barangay Malabago, 4 in San Miguel, 3 cases each in Barangays Bued, San Vicente and Gabon. Of the 31 reported cases, seventeen (17) are males and fourteen (14) are females with the youngest at 1 year old and the oldest at 39.

The significant finding is that the Dengue Fever cases reported for this year 2008 is 10 times higher than that of last year covering the same period, from January to June 30. There were only 3 cases reported last year compared to the 31 for this year and this signifies a sharp increase necessitating proper interventions in the control and preventive activities against Dengue Fever.

Chart 4 shows the incidence of Dengue Fever in Calasiao, Pangasinan through the years. The increase in the incidence of Dengue Fever in the Philippines has been observed to recur every three years. This holds true also for Calasiao from 1996 up to the year 2004. In 1998, the uptrend year of a three-year cycle, the Philippines experienced a nationwide outbreak of Dengue Fever. Calasiao was not spared and reported a total of 271 cases, the highest in the entire Region I, with 3 reported deaths. However, from 2004, the number of cases progressively increased with the highest in the year 2006. Major efforts were put in place to address the problem and finally, this trend was broken in 2007, when the cases went down drastically to the 2004 level.

Chart 3 of this report indicates a major public health concern for the Local Government Unit of Calasiao, Pangasinan. The information is consistent with the official statement of the Department of Health when they aired their concern on the possibility of an increase of 30- 40% of Dengue Fever cases nationwide this year from that of last year. However, the data for Calasiao would put the local condition in a worse situation. The Municipal Health Office of Calasiao, aware of the problem, intensified its surveillance and reporting system on Dengue Fever.

The staff and the BHWs were mobilized to ensure that early identification and diagnosis of Dengue Fever suspects be immediately referred to hospitals for evaluation and treatment. A major drawback in these efforts, however, is the absence of the three (3) rural sanitary inspectors. (RSIs) The RSIs were properly trained on matters pertaining to the prevention and control of the spread of diseases, including Dengue Fever. Activities on epidemiological investigations, health education, environmental sanitation and larvicidal/fogging activities were greatly hampered without the experience and capabilities of the RSIs.

The Municipal Health Office of Calasiao is trying its best to cope with the Dengue Fever problem while following the guidelines of the 4S program of DOH: 1) Search and destroy – which means that breeding places of dengue mosquito must be eradicated; 2) Self-protection measures – which means wearing long sleeves and long pants in places where mosquitoes are rampant, and also using mosquito repellant at daytime; 3) Seek early consultation – which means that bringing to the nearest health facility when a person has fever for two days; and 4) Say No to Indiscriminate Fogging – which means using fogging only when there is dengue outbreak.

The “Say No to Indiscriminate Fogging” is quite difficult to observe knowing that people tend to consider the community leaders not doing anything if there is no fogging activity, thus the Municipal Health Office provided a rule that limited fogging operations can be done in the households of the Dengue Fever suspects and their adjoining houses. However, recent developments have made this activity less acceptable because of the high prices of gasoline and diesel. Larvicidal and fogging reagents were granted to the Health Office from the Center for Health Development for Ilocos as augmentation.

A. Intensify the preventive aspect of Dengue Fever control program through health education and campaign for cleanliness and sanitation. B. Provide the necessary information and education materials for dissemination. C. Creation of position and hiring of Rural Sanitary Inspectors for the municipality D. Strengthen the surveillance and monitoring system for Dengue Fever and other reportable diseases through the inclusion of other empowered manpower sources such as the barangay officials’ and the BNSs