Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.
Lead Philippines: Can't believe this is still happening in the country. If the government does nothing, I won't be...
Keith Bacongco: who could we forget Alecks here in Mindanao... aside from PCIJ trainings, he also helped us a lot...

Latest Message 3 days, 18 hours ago

hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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The burden of dengue

Posted by: Isa Lorenzo | September 26, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Filed under: Public Health

THE loss of billions of pesos due to dengue could be halved by simply confirming an initial diagnosis.

It costs an estimated P1.1 billion to diagnose and treat unconfirmed cases of dengue, yet only half the amount, or P500 million, is spent in similar costs when the diagnosis is confirmed. according to “Burden of Disease and Economic Impact of Dengue,” a research paper by the National Institute of Health and the U.P. College of Public Health.

The economic costs of dengue in the Philippines is staggering. An estimated P367 billion is lost due to illness resulting from dengue, while 18,074 DALYs (disability adjusted life years lost) are lost every year.

DALY is the sum of Years of Life Lost due to premature mortality and Years lived with Disability due to dengue. It was developed by the World Bank as a “health indicator for priority setting”’ according to the paper.

Dengue is expensive to diagnose because it entails a series of laboratory tests. The average cost of diagnosis per patient is P5,050. This costs more than the average therapeutic management for dengue, which costs about P4,387. If the estimated total of 112,708 suspected dengue cases in the Philippines were to undergo diagnostic confirmation, it would cost an additional P120.4 million.

Yet by confirming the diagnosis of patients, the additional P428.5 million spent to treat unconfirmed dengue cases would be saved, on top of a hefty P548.8 million savings in treatment.

Millions of pesos in savings would have a big impact on the National Dengue Prevention and Control Programme (NDPCP). Due to devolution, the NDCP’s national budget of $16 million was reduced tenfold to $1.6 million.

Under devolution, the responsibility for the prevention and control of dengue has been passed on to local government units. Yet many still persist in practicing wrong methods of dengue control.

In spite of the Department of Health’s efforts to increase public awareness concerning dengue, some LGU’s continue to undertake unnecessary fogging. Fogging is a high-profile action, a way for politicians to garner publicity and reassure their constituents that they are fighting dengue, according to Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center. Yet fogging is only effective in areas hit by an epidemic, where there are large numbers of adult mosquitoes.

By demonstrating the burden of dengue, researchers hope to convince LGU’s to include dengue among priority public health problems that need to be addressed.

A reliable diagnostic test is needed in order to save costs and improve the surveillance of dengue. Eighty-one percent of dengue cases are not reported, according to the paper.

Dengue cases could be confirmed if LGU’s would implement a formal local dengue program, with its own staff, budget and organization.

Such programs would form part of an integrated health system, which is vital in responding to public health issues such as dengue. According to Dr. Jaime Montoya, head of the Philippine National Health Research System, “We cannot hope to immediately address urgent issues in a timely manner if there’s no integrated health system in place.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 26th, 2006 and is filed under Public Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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[...] In another blog article of Inside PCIJ, the economic cost of dengue in the country was highlighted. Government is encouraged to undertake steps on how to save money from the dengue campaign. Fogging is discouraged but publicity-seeking politicians insist on adopting this method: “Some Local Government Units continue to undertake unnecessary fogging. Fogging is a high-profile action, a way for politicians to garner publicity and reassure their constituents that they are fighting dengue, according to Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center. Yet fogging is only effective in areas hit by an epidemic, where there are large numbers of adult mosquitoes.” [...]