Malaria cases on the rise in Puerto Princesa

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, June 22 -– The City Health Office (CHO) here has warned residents to take the necessary precautions against malaria with the onset of the rainy season, the time when the disease is more prevalent.

In a radio interview, Dr. Ricardo Panganiban of the CHO said that they have already recorded around 243 malaria cases during summer, and expressed apprehensions the figure will increase with the rainy season.

Panganiban said mosquitoes that carry the malaria disease are more active during the wet season than the dry. The most effective way to control and manage malaria is “early prevention and detection.”

To avoid the mosquito-borne disease, he advised residents to always be aware of the risk, use insecticide-impregnated bed nets when sleeping, remove water in areas where it can stagnate and where the mosquitoes can breed, and to immediately consult health experts when fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, sweats, and nausea and vomiting manifest.

Ignorance and refusal to acknowledge the right things to do, he added, is often the reason why many still get sick of malaria when it can be managed.

Out of the city’s 66 barangays, some remain malaria endemic due to the environment. Malaria-carrier mosquitoes particularly love to breed in dark areas of the river where water is prevented from flowing freely. (PNA)

FFC/CARF/mec

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