Masbate City- Dengue fever is among the leading diseases that afflict and kill children in this city.

City Health Officer Victoria P. Manalo, disclosed that last year, exactly 22 cases of the disease involving children were recorded in the city health office alone.

It was not ascertained how many similar cases were recorded in private hospitals and clinics, including those brought to Metro Manila, Cebu City and Legazpi City for treatment.

Dr. Manalo said of the 22 cases, six died while under treatment because they were brought in too late. "The remaining 16 survived and these cases were those that were diagnosed early enough."

Of the six fatalities, three were in Barangay Tugbo, two in Barangay Nursery and one in Barangay Pating.

Breakdown of the other 10 cases: Barangays Espinosa, and Bagumbayan, three each, and Barangays Nursery, F. Magallanes, Kinamaligan, Ibinigay and Centro, two each.

Meanwhile, DOH Bicol regional director Gerardo V. Bayugo has called on local officials concerned to sustain clean-up operations in their communities in order to avert outbreak of dengue fever, which he said stems from poor sanitation.

Bayugo frowned on fogging operations during dengue outbreaks, saying such measures is only "temporary".

He explained that "fogging" kills the adult mosquitoes only and not the larvae and eggs, which in due time will become adult mosquitoes."

"Fogging is only expensive but also raises the false belief that the problem had been solved when in fact it has not been so," Bayugo stressed.

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