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“the Effectivity of Euphorbia Hirta L. (Tawa-Tawa)

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Philippine health secretary has said that global warming may have contributed to a 43 percent rise in the number of dengue cases in the country for the first half of the year. According to government figures 15,061 cases of the disease in the Philippines were reported in the first six months of the year. "The increase in the number of dengue cases may be attributed to the constantly changing climate brought by global warming as well as congestion in urban areas," health secretary Francisco Duque said.

CEBU City Health Officer Estella Ygoña said dengue cases in the city have significantly decreased. The City Epidemiology Surveillance and Statistics Unit (Cessu) has only recorded 1,623 cases from January to November 2011 compared to 2,871 cases in the same period last 2010, or 43.46 percent lower. Dengue fever also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Dengue viruses are mosquitos-borne viruses which exist in nature as four separate serotypes. Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. The most efficient vector is the female Aedes aegypti. This mosquito is domestic, day-biting, with low and limited flying movements. Dengue virus is transmitted to man through mosquito bites and is therefore ranked among the arbovirus (arthropodborne virus) diseases. Treatment of dengue virus infections is essentially symptomatic and supportive. There are no specific anti-viral tablets or injections that can kill the virus. However a lot of supportive care and treatment can go a long way to save a patient suffering from dengue fever. Fever is treated by anti-pyretics, like paracetamol.

Euphorbia hirta, also called asthma weed, and known as tawa-tawa in the Philippines, is a plant of the genus Euphorbia Tawa-Tawa (Euphorbia hirta Linn) is a slender-stemmed, bushy plant that grows with several tiny branches from the base to the top and usually has a height of 2 inches. It has several tiny flowers bunched together with opposite rhombus leaves blotched with purple and toothed at its edge. It is used traditionally in the Philippines as a curative for dengue fever.

Mixed messages have been presented by representatives of the Philippine government. The Department of Health (DOH) says tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) is not enough for critical dengue patients, and urges oral rehydration therapy[citation needed]. The Department of Health (DoH) has advised people with suspected dengue fever to seek medical consultation for treatment rather than relying on "tawa-tawa" as a cure. The people who believe that tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) can help increase the count of blood platelets and the Department of Health that said that tawa tawa (Euphorbia hirta) is not enough to cure a patient having dengue fever, Well this is the purpose of my study. This will help clear up the minds of people who are curious on tawa-tawa (Euphorbia hirta) as a treatment on degue fever.

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