CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela (PIA) - - The Isabela Provincial Health Office - Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (IPHO-PESU) has placed the province under an Alert Threshold after it registered a total of 1,179 dengue cases as of June 10, 2022.

IPHO - PESU Coordinator Arlene Martinez reported during the Provincial Health Board meeting conducted on June 14, 2022 that the City of Ilagan recorded the highest number of dengue cases in the province with a total of 155 followed by San Mateo with 86, Gamu with 82, Roxas with 50, Tumauini with 82, Cauayan City with 78, Alicia with 62, Jones with 55, San Mariano with 42, Quirino with 31, Benito Soliven with 31, Cordon with 29, and Naguilian with 29 cases.

Since the province is now under Alert Threshold, Martinez said the Provincial Government needs to step up necessary measures to stop the continuous rise of dengue cases here.

He said that there is a need to conduct clean-up drive in barangays, continue monitoring of cities and municipalities with dengue cases, intensify IEC campaign on dengue awareness and prevention, distribute insecticides and larvicides, as well as distribute treated curtains and nets.

Meanwhile, Provincial Administrator Noel Manuel Lopez, who presided the meeting, said the fight against dengue is a whole-of-province and multi-sectoral approach especially in destroying the breeding grounds of dengue-carrier mosquitoes.

Lopez has called on the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, and Department of Education to issue directives to their respective personnel in the Local Government Units to strictly follow the 4S strategies to fight dengue which are to search and destroy breeding places, secure self-protection, seek early consultation, and support fogging/spraying in hotspot areas. (MDCT/MGE/PIA Isabela)