By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff Reporter
Batac
City—As the number of victims rise, the
Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) has converted
its covered court into a temporary dengue ward to keep up.
MMM&MC health education
and promotion officer III Jhey-Ar Mangati made this announcement after the said
hospital foresees additional increase of dengue cases in the coming weeks.
Per records, the Batac
hospital admitted 204 cases from January to July 15, 2018; this year, admitted
cases are at 355 in the same time period.
This is the reason, according
to Mr. Mangati the hospital decided to use the covered court as temporary
dengue ward.
He, however, clarified that
as of press time, the hospital’s permanent dengue ward can still accommodate
patients.
“Kas makita tayo awan pay
pasyente idiay covered court ita nga
agdama ngem naksaganan a mausar no umadu pay iti pasyente nga ma-admit,”
Mr. Mangati noted
Of the hospital’s 355 dengue cases,
those from this city has the biggest number with the others coming from
different parts of the province. The hospital has discharged several patients
but more patients are also coming in.
The hospital also reported
that there are already two casualties.
Mr. Mangati said the hospital
considers the two casualties and the number of cases as “alarming”
To correct this, he stressed
that prevention should always be the first consideration.
To do this, he said all
health officials should intensify the Dept. of Health dengue prevention
campaign dubbed “4S Laban sa Dengue”—search and destroy; self-protection; seek
for early consultation; and say no to indiscriminate fogging”.
He added that residents need
to remove all stagnant waters in containers that are possible mosquito breeding
areas.
“Ta narigrigat a tiliwen
dagitay lamok a tumayaben ket as early as itlog da paylaeng, dapat
maibelleng ken maawan dan,” Mr. Mangati said.
He also advised children to
wear protective clothing, use mosquito nets at night and mosquito repellants.
He also asked parents to
bring their children to a health facility if the child suffers fever for two
days. He stressed that fever is one of the first symptoms of dengue.
He also cautioned against
fumigation saying authorities should only do this in areas where an outbreak is
declared.
As of press time, Mr. Mangati
said that most of the dengue victims ranges from 6 to 15 years old, with the
hospital admitting an average of 5 to 10 patients daily on suspected dengue
cases.
Aside from designating a
temporary dengue ward, the Batac hospital has also implemented emergency
purchase of needed medical supplies and has requested the DOH for additional
cot beds and privacy curtains.
The Provincial Health Office,
meanwhile, will provide mosquito nets once the temporary dengue ward becomes
operational.
Mr. Mangati added that the
hospital is also open to donations from the public. He said this may be
pillows, blankets, cot beds and other necessary items.
Earlier, the MMMH&MC put
up a fast lane for dengue patients.
Meanwhile, Laoag City health
officer Dr. Renato Mateo confirmed that the one casualty from MMMH-MC is from Laoag,
particularly at Brgy. Cataban. He said the victim was six years old.
The Laoag City Health Office records show that as of
July 18, 2019 there are 119 dengue victims in the city, including the one
casualty reported by the MMMH&MC.
Mr. Mateo added that a CHO team
discovered presence of dengue-carrying mosquito larvae at the residence of the
victim, which made them decide to conduct fumigation operations in the area.
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