LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - The representative of the Department of Health based in Dagupan City is under fire for issuing a statement claiming there was an  outbreak of dengue fever in Pangasinan.

Dr. George Calugay, head of the Center for Health Development team office based in Dagupan City, claimed in a television interview last July 26 that there was already an outbreak of the disease in the province at the time.

Calugay cited data gathered by his office saying that there were 466 dengue cases in the entire province for the period January-July 15, 2006.

The news report created a stir among health officials who confirmed that the data used by Dr. Calugay were unverified and that there is until now no dengue outbreak in Pangasinan.

Dr. Gloria J. Balboa, DOH assistant regional director and head of the Center for Health Development-Region I (CHD-I), said the data used by Calugay contained ‘numerous duplications’.

“The DOH representative (Calugay) used as reference the cases gathered by their malaria/dengue program staff. This tally is different from the data of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveilance Unit (RESU),” Dr. Balboa said in her report to Health Secretary Franciso Duque III.

Balboa said the RESU-I headed by Dr. Rimando Magalong was quickly mobilized to investigate Calugay’s report and came up with the conclusion that “there was no outbreak of dengue disease at the time that such statement was made to the media.”

Balboa accused Calugay of being remiss in coordinating with the management staff of RESU-I or the CHD-I office prior to making  a ‘crucial’ statement to the media.

As per report from the RESU-I, there were only about 343 confirmed dengue cases in Pangasinan from January to July 15, 2006.

Last year, there were 1,087 confirmed cases yet no dengue outbreak was declared by the DOH. (RCC/PIO)