The chief of the Muntinlupa City Health Office (CHO) warned the public against the dengue epidemic in the city, pointing out that the search and destroy strategy against mosquitoes needs to be strengthened.
Dr. Juancho Bunyi, CHO chief, said while dengue has reached epidemic level in Muntinlupa, the city is still in the top three local government units in Metro Manila with the lowest number of cases this year.
“Dengue has reached an epidemic proportion since the disease has affected a large number of people within a city as it is observed now. The increase is sudden in the number of cases of what is normally expected. Dengue has affected many persons at the same time and spreading from person to person in a locality where dengue thrives,” he said.
CHO data showed that from Jan. 1 to Aug. 14 this year, Muntinlupa recorded 211 dengue cases, 115.31 percent higher compared to 98 cases recorded in the same period last year.
Five more cases were added from Aug. 12 to 14, bringING the total dengue cases in Muntinlupa to 216.
Muntinlupa has a dengue attack rate of 3.9 per 10,000 population. Among the barangays, Putatan has the highest number of cases with 46, followed by Tunasan, 33; Alabang, 31; Sucat, 26; Cupang, 22; Poblacion, 20; Bayanan, 18; Ayala Alabang, 17; and Buli, three.
Of the nine barangays, Ayala Alabang has the highest attack rate of 7.24 per 10,000 people based on its population of 23,495.
Bunyi said the Muntinlupa City government implements control and preventive measures against dengue.
Among them are searching and destroying mosquito breeding sites, and space spraying in areas with dengue cases.
He advised the public to seek early medical consultation if they experience early symptoms for two days and employ self-protection measures including using insect repellants, wearing long sleeves and pants, and avoiding wearing dark colored clothes.