DOH intensifies campaign with rise in Reg.XI dengue cases

The number of dengue cases in the Davao Region has increased from 5,900 in 2012 to 6,937 as of August 3, 2013 prompting the Department of Health (DOH) XI to intensify its campaign versus dengue.

“We may have a higher rate of dengue this year but we have less mortality this year compared to the previous year,” DOH Health Advocacy and Promotion Cluster officer-in-charge Divine Hilario said during Monday’s Kapihan held at SM City Annex.

A total of 63 persons died from dengue last year but this was reduced to only 47 this year, Hilario said.

Dengue is still on top of the Department’s priority list and they are intensifying their campaign again dengue. They have also enhanced the 4 o’clock habit to encourage people to clean their surroundings.

“It should not be taken literally that people should clean only when the clock strike but this is just a reminder to the people keep their surroundings clean,” she said.

Almost 50 percent of this year’s dengue cases were reported in Davao City with 3,822 cases and 23 dead. Like the past years, she said, Buhangin is still a hotspot maybe because it has a larger area of coverage.

Hilario said the following dengue cases were also reported: Davao del Sur with 932 cases and 12 dead, Compostela Valley with 846 cases and 7 dead, Davao Oriental with 736 with 2 dead and in Davao del Norte with 601 cases with 3 dead.

She said that while dengue and chikungunya are both mosquito-borne illnesses, people should watch out for dengue as it is more deadly. Both illnesses have the same vector mosquito and have the same symptoms though, she added.

“The bad thing about chikungunya is that it can last longer for a month or two—some people even suffer from arthritic pain caused by this illness for two years,” she said. However, she added, people can be inflicted with chikungunya only once but dengue can inflict them many times since there are four strains of dengue.(

Braga Urge Criminalization Of Making Herbal Medicine False Claims

Davao City Councilor Pilar Braga is urging Congress to craft a law that will criminalize the act of making false claims about medicine and herbal supplements.

Braga said it is high time that the Bureau of Food and Drug as well as the Department of Trade and Industry should look into businessmen who take advantage of the wide acceptability of herbal medicines especially in the province.

The lack of scientific study and guidelines on their efficacy or effects to humans should be enough reason to worry. However, the claim of BFAD that these are food supplements and are therefore not under their jurisdiction makes the situation worse, she said.

Braga said the advertisements for these herbal supplements claim that they have many cures and have good effects on health. Take for example the case of an old man who cannot walk because of arthritis and yet suddenly after taking the herbal supplement he is shown to be able not only walk but even jog, she added.

"Many of these herbal drugs are sold over the counter much like the ordinary medicine," she said. She added that even the DOH encouraged the use of herbal medicines.

These herbal medicines should have been studied and tested by BFAD first before being sold in the market to protect consumers not only from falls claims but also from the possible harmful effects of these products, Braga said.

She said celebrities, doctors and other endorsers of herbal drugs should be held responsible when somebody dies after taking the herbal drugs they endorse. Congress, she said, should craft a law that will criminalize the act of making false claims about medicines or herbal supplements.