Featured image above shows Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) Executive Director Dr. Lulu Bravo stressing a point as she discusses the PMA initiative to attain zero dengue deaths by 2030 through the END Dengue Coalition launched on February 18, 2025. Others in the photo are her fellow PMA members and coalition stalwarts. (Photo: SDN)
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- EDD K. USMAN |ย X (Twitter): @edd1819 |ย Instagram: @bluestar0910ย |Facebook: SDN โ SciTech & Digital News
ย CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MANILA GALLERIA, Quezon City (SDN) — Over 380,000 cases in 11 months and 881 deaths in 2024; the Philippines is number one in Southeast Asia.
Shouldn’t the government, Filipinos in general, be alarmed?
Perhaps, every sector of society should be, because the Aedes aegypti mosquito does not discriminate its victims. As long as you have blood in your veins — women and men, children and adults — everyone is only a bite away from contracting dengue.
Surely, to be “alarmed” should not mean “panicked” but instead acting proactively by following the sage advice and suggestions of those in the medical field, of local governments, of experts and other authorities.
A search on the internet shows that dengue is “a mosquito-borne viral infection prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions.” (Healthline.com)
According to Healthline.com, the severe cases of the mosquito-borne disease “can lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, which can cause severe bleeding, organ failure, and death.” The Aedes aegypti is dengue virus’s primary cause of transmission.
As noted by the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), the foremost medical group in the country boosting 80,000 licensed physicians as members, dengue has become “a primary health concern in the country.”
So much so that the PMA organized the Empowering Networks to Defeat (END) Dengue Coalition which they formally launched here on Tuesday, February 18, to combat and seek to eliminate dengue in the Philippines.
Their main objective? Zero dengue deaths by 2023. That’s a mere five short years.
And to do this, the PMA invited nurses, pharmacists, midwives, other professionals, the community, local governments, and others to join the battle.
“Dengue fever remains a serious public health challenge, claiming thousands of lives each year. However, we stand at a pivotal moment in history — one where ending dengue deaths in 2030 is not just an aspiration but an achievable goal,” Capt. Erica Tania Davillo, M.D., chair of the PMA Adhoc Commitee on Dengue Advocacy, says in her opening remarks at the launch of END Dengue Coalition.
She pointed out that this can be done through the coalition the PMA founded.
Meanwhile, dengue incidence continues to bedevil Filipinos 70 years after the disease was reported in the country, noted Dr. Lulu Bravo, a member of PMA and executive director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV), at the sidelines before the event opened.
At that time, she said the disease was not yet known as “dengue” but called H-Fever.
The objective of END Dengue Coalition, Bravo pointed out, is to stop and control the incidence of dengue. “Before it was not widespread, now it’s present in the entire Philippines. It’s high time to end dengue. Those mosquitoes with stripe, we want it eliminated, lessened,” says the PFV official, a professor emeritus at the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila.
Government’s 5S Strategy on containing dengue already old
“Dengue is present in over 134 countries across the world and is feared even in Europe. Now it’s going to North America where it is hot,” notes Bravo during the interview with members of the media.
It is about time the Philippines has a vaccine for dengue, adding that Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia already have vaccines for the disease. Dengue, she said, was once called the “neglected disease.”
At the launch proper of the coalition, Davillo revealed the PMA wrote a letter dated February 12, 2025, to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to communicate the urgency of mounting an intensified campaign against dengue’s onslaught.
“Dengue continues to be a major public health concern in the Philippines with over 380,000 cases (81 percent increase vs. previous year) and 881 deaths in the Philippines from January to November 2024. Philippines continues to be number one in Southeast Asia in terms of dengue cases and deaths consistently in the years and up to the present,” the letter emphasizes as read by Davillo, a military officer as well.
The letter to the President pointed out the financial cost of treatment for dengue, as it “poses significant economic burden with at least 2-billion-peso allocation by PhilHealth every year for dengue hospitalization.”
While the PMA acknowledges the government’s efforts in eliminating dengue disease through its 5S prevention strategies, the group lamented that the 5S Strategy is old as it was launched 32 years ago in 1993.
It was learned through a search on the internet that the 5S Strategy which the Department of Health (DOH) has been implementing, are Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; Self-protection like using insect repellents; Seek early consultation at the nearest health care facility; Support fogging, spraying, and misting in hot spot areas; and Sustain hydration.
With these old strategies in containing dengue still being used, the PMA noted in the letter to the President how ineffective they are because “dengue remains to be a public health concern with rising cases all year round.”
“We need to consider other innovative strategies available to address dengue. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a multi-pronged approach to dengue prevention and control that includes dengue immunization aside from vector control and clinical management,” the letter reads.
“Together, we can ensure that no life is lost to dengue by 2030.โ — Davillo
While advocating the use of a new vaccine for dengue, the PMA said it understands the utmost concern on the safety of dengue vaccines because of the country’s experience with Dengvaxia (CYD-TDV), but noted that recent advances in vaccine technology has come up with new generation dengue vaccines in the market or are now in Phase 3 of clinical trial. And that it showed promise with regards to vaccine effectiveness and safety.
The PMA identified one of the vaccines as TAK003, manufactured by the Japanese Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, saying it has been “licensed in more than 40 countries including Indonesia, Brazil and European Union.” It added WHO recommended TAK003 for dengue prevention in countries that are highly endemic like the Philippines.
“This vaccine has pending application with the Philippine FDA (Food and Drug Administration) since April 2023,” the letter continues.
PMA’s members noted having witnessed the devastating impact on their patients and their families of the dengue disease, prompting them to “strongly urge the government to grant access to these new generation dengue vaccines and allow Filipinos the right to protect themselves from this dreadful disease, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution.”
Davillo, Dr. Mildred M. Maรฑalac-Mariano, PMA secretary general, and Dr. Hector M Santos, Jr., PMA president, signed the letter to the President.
The END Dengue Coalition partnered with specialty healthcare organizations, the academe, researchers, and fellow advocates as they commit to upholding the five pillars that support the dengue advocacy in the Philippines.
As enumerated in their Manifesto of Commitment the five pillars are:
- Global and Local Epidemiology and Threat,
- Vector Contril,
- Clinical Management,
- Dengue Vaccine Development, and
- Communication and Advocacy.
The PMA concluded their letter to Marcos with a united stand with the government in the promotion of a healthier Philippines through the eradication of diseases that are vaccine-preventable through immunization.
In her opening remarks, Davillo issued the END Dengue Coalition’s “call on all stakeholders — governments, health organizations, communities, and you, the media — to play a vital role in raising awareness and driving action. Together, we can ensure that no life is lost to dengue by 2030.”
Let’s hope the alarm raised on the dengue incidence does not fall on deaf ears, with the government using its powers and the Filipinos acting in unison to eliminate the killer disease caused by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. (โก)