Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division chief Dr. Rolando Cruz urged the residents to seek immediate medical attention when they experience dengue symptoms.

“Ang advice parati, ‘wag nang maghanap ng iba pang sintomas basta nilalagnat ang bata. Ang hirap kasi i-distinguish talaga sa ibang sakit. Pareho lang ng mga presentation -- lagnat, parang trangkaso, sasakit ang katawan, sasakit ang ulo (The usual advice, don't look for other symptoms as long as the child has a fever. It's hard to distinguish it from other diseases. The presentations are the same -- fever, flu-like, body aches, headaches),” Cruz said in an interview on Monday, Feb. 17.

Cruz encouraged the parents not to wait for more than two days of fever before having their children assessed by doctor.

“Kaya kami nag-announce ng outbreak para magbigay alam sa mga nanay at magulang na meron pong threat ng dengue sa ating komunidad (That's why we announced an outbreak to inform mothers and parents that there is a threat of dengue in our community),” he added.

He said that it was a common reason when they visited the families of the fatalities of dengue.

“Yung pinuntahan po natin na may namatay, ang akala ng mga magulang ay simpleng lagnat lang… at nabigyan lang ng paunang lunas na paracetamol (When we went to the house of a resident who succumbed to the disease, the parents thought it was just a simple fever... and was only given paracetamol as first aid),” he said.

Cruz also shared that late medical assessment has been a challenge for doctors in the city.

“Ang nagiging problema lang natin ay ‘yung hindi naa-assess agad ng mga doktor. ‘Yun ‘yung kwento ng mga sampu nating case fatalities o mga namatay. It took them…7 days, more than 5 days, bago magpa-konsulta at matignan ng doktor (The only problem we have is the failure to be assessed by the doctors immediately. That's the story of our 10 case fatalities or those who died. It took them seven days, more than five days, before consulting and seeing a doctor),” he said.

According to the report, a total of 1,769 cases were recorded from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, 2025, which is almost 200% higher than last year's figure.

Meanwhile, the Quezon City Health Department conducted anti-dengue spraying in 142 barangays.

Read more: https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/17/mayor-joy-orders-extensive-anti-dengue-spraying-in-142-barangays