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| The Chikungunya mosquitoes |
2,207 chikungunya
cases in Marinduque alone!
The new health threat
posed by the mosquito-borne African viral disease, chikongunya, to residents of
many Marinduque barangays is far from over. The municipal government of Boac,
alarmed by the increasing number of people downed by the virus that registered
more than 1,200 victims in July declared a state of calamity (July 17), for health reasons immediately engaging in massive information, education and clean up drives to
eradicate mosquito breeding grounds. Yet the problem persists and there are apparent attempts to downplay the situation.
that a week after the
capital town was placed under a state of calamity owing to the outbreak, the
number rose from 1,048 to 1,217.
As of July 25 the number of chikungunya cases
reported province-wide from January to July according to the Provincial Health
Office was: Boac – 1,237; Torrrijos – 505; Buenavista – 282; Gasan – 53; Mogpog
– 121 and Sta. Cruz – 9, or a total of 2,207 cases that were reported to the Department
of Health (DOH).
But DOH reports 2,594
chikungunya cases nationwide!
The irony of it all is
that we read about DOH Asst. Secretary Tayag expressing concern about chikungunya
outbreak in 10 municipalities across the country (and none from Marinduque) – villages
found in Kiamba and Maitum in Sarangani; Villareal and Daram in Western Samar;
Ma. Aurora in Aurora; Sindangan in Zamboanga del Norte; Sta. Rita in Samar;
Concepcion in Romblon; Santiago in Agusan del Norte; and Patnongon in Antique. Tayag
said, "from Jan. 1 to June 30 this year, the DOH had registered a total of
2,594 suspected chikungunya cases…” http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/07/13/964738/doh-confirms-chikungunya-outbreak-10-municipalities
And there are other 'alarming' reports from other regions, nothing compared to the Marinduque figures.
“The Department of
Health-Region 11 (DOH-11) said chikungunya cases since January, 2013 have
reached 72 and raised the alarm that it may be on the rise in the region. The
DOH-11 report added that among the provinces in the region, Davao Oriental had
the highest number of cases with 32, followed by Davao del Sur, including Davao
City, with 25; Compostela Valley with 10; and Davao del Norte with five. “ http://mb.com.ph/News/Provincial_News/27472/Chikungunya-dengue_a_deadly_mix_%E2%80%93_DOH#.UhapwtKkr0w
"(The) DOH
confirms (a) chikungunya outbreak in Patnongon, Antique with 313 cases. No
deaths," Tayag said in a series of posts on his Twitter account. (GMANetwork
June 28, 2013) http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/314952/news/regions/doh-confirms-chikungunya-outbreak-in-antique-pushes-prevention-measures
In 2011 there were
just more than 1,000 and less in 2012 according to Tayag:
In a 2012 article http://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/092812-0012.pdf Dr. Tayag of DOH was quoted
to have said “In 1992, we already had cases… Last year (2011), there were more
than 1,000 cases reported while since January this year, there are over 150
cases reported…”
Current state in some state-of-calamity towns:
Dahil sa may 50
indibidwal sa apat na barangay sa Ilocos Norte sa nasabing bayan (San Nicolas) ang
kinakitaan ng sintomas ng chikungunya, nagdeklara ng state of calamity ang
alkalde sa nasabing bayan. http://abante.com.ph/opinion2/index.php/luzon-news/2229/chikungunya-state-of-calamity-na-sa-ilocos-norte
NASA ilalim na sa
state of calamity ang Barangay San Roque sa lungsod ng Koronadal sa probinsya
ng South Cotabato dahil sa pagtaas ng bilang ng kaso ng Chikungunya na umabot
na sa 212... Napag-alaman na una
nang isinailalim sa state of calamity ang bayan ng Tampakan dahil pa rin sa
Chikungunya outbreak. http://www.remate.ph/2013/07/koronadal-nasa-state-of-calamity-dahil-sa-chikungunya-outbreak/#.Uha0vtKkr0w
A state of calamity
has been declared in the town of Tampakan, South Cotabato due to the continuous
rise of chikungunya cases in the area.. a total of 236 chikungunya cases have
been reported. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/10/13/chikungunya-puts-cotabato-town-state-calamity
“Something is rotten
in the state of Denmark.” Is there an attempt to downplay the Marinduque chikungunya
situation for whatever reason there might be?
