MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Red Cross on Sunday ordered its chapters nationwide to step-up dengue preparedness, especially with the onset of the rainy season.

"The rainy season has already started. Communities should be on the lookout for killer diseases such as dengue," said Gwendolyn Pang, PRC Secretary General said in a memorandum circular.

The Philippine Red Cross instructed its offices nationwide to start community-based dengue prevention programs that would stir increased awareness among communities.

These programs include identifying priority areas, organizing community health volunteers (CHV) from the group of 143 volunteers, mobilizing CHVs to conduct cleanup drives to destroy mosquito-breeding sites in the community and monitoring dengue occurrences in barangays.

Dengue is an acute infectious disease manifested initially with fever. It is transmitted by Aedes aegypti, a day-biting mosquito which lays eggs in clear and stagnant water found in flower vases, cans, rain barrels, old rubber tires and other containers.

The signs and symptoms include fever, joint and muscle pain, weakness, skin rashes, abdominal pain, dark-colored stools and vomiting of coffee-colored matter.

In April 2010, DOH recorded at least 4,000 dengue cases, a 50% increase from the same period in 2009.

"The rise in the number of dengue cases is very alarming. It may sound cliché but prevention is really better than cure," said Pang.