Local health  officials authorities are keeping a close watch on suspected cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease that exhibits some similar clinical symptoms as those  of dengue fever, in Dumaguete City.
           
Dr. Socrates Villamor, chief of the provincial team of the Department of Health in Negros Oriental, said  yesterday that  a few suspected  chikungunya cases were reported to his office by the Dumaguete City Health Office.
           
But the patients were not subjected to blood serum testing by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila due to late reporting. Ideally, a patient believed to have the viral disease should be subjected to testing within one week from the onset of symptoms, Villamor said.
           
Other provinces in the Philippines have reports of confirmed cases of chikungunya but, so far, Negros Oriental does not have a single positive case, except for those that are under suspicion, he added.
           
Meanwhile, the head of the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit of DOH-7 visited Negros Oriental last week and brought a rapid testing kit to be  given  to its provincial counterpart and to the CHO of Dumaguete, Villamor said.
           
Chikungunya is a relatively new disease and not  known to many,  he said, but  assured that it is not a life-threatening disease,  unlike dengue fever,  and does not cause in  bleeding or hemorrhage.
           
Its prominent symptoms are joint pains, and in severe cases,   hindered mobility.
          
Ma. Angelica Noel Solon, said in a telephone interview that  her teenage son, Derrick, was diagnosed with  chikungunya recently after he returned from Manila.
           
Two of her workers, both from Barangay Cadawinonan, were also reported to have exhibited symptoms of chikungunya fever and were all diagnosed by a private physician in Dumaguete.
           
Villamor called on the public to be vigilant and adopt measures against mosquito vectors of dengue and chikungunya. Both viral infections are transmitted to humans by an infected mosquito, specifically, the aedes aegypti, or the aedes albopictus.
           
Symptoms of chikungunya that are similar to those of dengue are rashes, fever, muscle pain, headache and nausea.
           
The public is enjoined to undertake preventative measures, such as the 4S approach, or search and destroy mosquito breeding grounds, seek early consultation, self protection like using insect repellant lotion and netting, and saying no to indiscriminate fogging, Villamor added.*JFP

back to top