MMSU is helping to promote awareness on the incidence of the dreaded dengue disease in Ilocos Norte that has become a serious epidemic malady that already claimed thousands of lives of school children throughout the country.

In collaboration with the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, the university has organized a lecture-forum on Dengue: An Enigma Unraveled at the MMSU Function Hall on August 23 with experts from the Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Manila. 

Lecturers were composed of by Dr. Anna Ma. Lena L. Lopez, director of the agency; Dr. Kristal An C. Agrupis and Dr. Francie N. Raguindin, coordinators for dengue studies; and Dr. Michelle C. Ylade, a research faculty.

 
More than 200 participants from the local government units in Ilocos Norte and the MMSU were educated on the epidemiology and clinical manifestation of dengue, clinical management of dengue, dengue vaccine development, and the future preventive measures against dengue.

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis thanked the provincial government for partnering with the university in implementing the activity, which manifested its commitment to dengue prevention and control in the province.

Dr. Agrupis also lauded the experts from UP Manila for sharing their knowledge on dengue to the participants, assuring that MMSU will do its best to help the provincial government in its campaign against the incidence of dengue.

"Dengue can be treated and prevented, but many are simply ignorant about it, or they have wrong notions or misconceptions about it," she said, emphasizing that providing people with the right mindset and appropriate interventions are the best way to combat the disease.

Dr. Agrupis also urged the local and provincial governments to legislate and implement programs that would further inform the people and communities against the outbreak of dengue and other deadly diseases that affect the people.

Meanwhile, Dr. Leonisa Silvestre, director of MMSU's Health and Wellness Services, said that in relation to dengue prevention, the university is also conducting an information dissemination campaign through print materials, and via the broadcast media.

Earlier, the Department of Health declared a national dengue epidemic due to the increasing cases of dengue outbreak in the country, citing more than 188,000 dengue cases and 807 deaths recorded based on its latest Dengue Surveillance Report.

Data also showed that the regions with the most number of cases are Western Visayas, Calabarzon, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Metro Manila, Socsargen, Eastern Visayas and Bicol.

Dr. Silvestre said that based on the records from the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in Batac City, a total of 144 dengue cases were registered from January to June 2019, a 60.42 percent higher than the same period last year. Areas with the most number of dengue cases were Batac City (20), Laoag City (15), Pagudpud (12), Pasuquin (10), San Nicolas (5), and Dingras (5).

Records from the Provincial Health Office also showed that there were 353 dengue cases in the province as of July 3 this year, an 18.9 percent higher than the same period in 2018. Places with the most number of cases were Laoag City (94), Badoc (43), Batac (29), Pagudpud (21), and Dingras (21).

Alarmed by these figures, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc has signed Executive Order 15-19, ordering all concerned agencies in the province to become extreme vigilant against the outbreak of this dreaded disease.