Jeric and his wife Windar Dimayuga felt anxious when they received the news from their relative in the Philippines that their two sons were confined in a hospital because of dengue. Both of them are overseas Filipino workers.
“We were in Dubai at that time. That was in 2014, ” recalled Jeric in an interview describing the moment as the worst experience they ever had- their children Darryl Gabriel, 7 and Darrick Gerwin, 4, were diagnosed with dengue and were confined in a hospital in Batangas. He said that the mosquito bite probably occurred at their school.
“It’s very painful because our children needs us the most but we couldn’t be there for them. All we did was to pray,” he said adding that they just heaved a sigh of relief when their children received a clean bill of health, after a week -long hospital stay. The combined total of the hospital bill is around P60,000.
Meanwhile, Maricar Brizuela , a reporter of Philippine Daily Inquirer, said she had no idea that she had been infected with dengue. She decided to have herself checked at Makati Medical Center because of high fever and terrible headache.
“Having dengue was the most traumatic event in my life. After that I was afraid of mosquito bites,” she said stressing that her work was also affected for she could not return immediately because she felt weak after she was discharged from the hospital.
She said she doesn’t want to catch dengue and go back to the hospital again. The Dimayuga brothers and Brizuela were fortunate enough to survive the disease but not the 46-year-old tabloid reporter Jhie Convocar who succumbed to dengue.
Convocar’s wife and five children are still grieving over his death last March 26, 2016.
According to Convocar’s colleague at Remate, Fhritzel Escosar Nabaja, it is very burdensome to the family for it is only Convocar who has a job.
“How can the wife now send all the five children in school and feed them for she has no work,?” asked Nabaja, who was deeply concerned for the family just like other Convocar’s co-reporters in the eastern part of Metro Manila who were surprised of his untimely death.
Convocar died just one and a half hour after he was rushed to the hospital. “He was complaining of fever, joint and muscle pain few days before he died that was during Holy Week. He died on Saturday,” he added.
Dengue incidence
Dengue is highly endemic in the Philippines. It affects both rich and poor populations.
The country had the highest incidence and ranks number one in the Western Pacific Region from 2013 to 2015, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
As of April 9, 2016, a total of 33, 658 suspected dengue cases were reported nationwide. Most of the cases were from Region IV-A with 5,546 cases out of 33,658; Region III with 4, 518 cases; Region X with 3, 604 cases and National Capital Region (NCR) with 2,469 cases.
To curb the rising incidence of dengue in the country, the DOH launched its dengue program for public vaccination on April 4, 2016 at Parang Elementary School in Marikina City.
The DOH disclosed on Monday (April 25) the latest coverage of Dengue School-Based Immunization as of April 24, 2016 have already covered a total of 204, 397 (73 percent) pupils that were vaccinated out of 279,393 pupils with parents’ consent. As of April 24, 2016 a total of 362 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) from the three regions where the Dengue School Based Immunization Program were received. The top five common reactions were fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting, and rash. The DOH established a strict monitoring and surveillance system for adverse events and side effects following immunization.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Janette P. Loretto- Garin reiterated that while the vaccine is proven 90 percent effective in preventing the incidence of severe dengue, cleanliness is still the most fundamental solution against mosquito-borne diseases like dengue.
“Especially today that the country is stricken by the El Niño phenomenon, the public is reminded to always cover containers which are being used for storing water so it will not be infested by mosquito larvae,” Garin said.
“Dengue vaccines are only a step of our battle against dengue. We will continue to fight against mosquito-borne diseases through the ‘4S campaign’. The 4S means Search & destroy mosquito breeding places, use Self-protection measures, Seek early consultation for fever lasting more than 2 days, and say ‘No’ to indiscriminate fogging. Lahat ng ito ay mangyayari kung sisimulan natin sa ating mga bahay. Sama-sama nating gampanan ang ating papel upang makamit ang Kalusugang Pangkalahatan.” Garin concluded.