MANILA, Philippines?Dengue cases in the country for the first seven months increased 48 percent compared to figures for the same period last year, the Department of Health said.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona disclosed that incidents of the mosquito-borne disease from January to July this year have already gone beyond the 40,000 mark, registering 40,648 cases with a total of 328 deaths.

For the same period last year, the DOH recorded a total of 293 fatalities.

Most of the cases reported this year were traced to Central Mindanao with 5,259 followed by Western Visayas with 4,511 dengue incidents.

A total of 4,086 dengue cases were also reported in Eastern Visayas; 4,034 incidents in Calabarzon; 3,875 in Southern Mindanao; 3603 cases in Northern Mindanao and 3,452 in Metro Manila.

"The increase in dengue cases can be attributable to the El Niño phenomenon the country is experiencing," Ona said.

He also reminded the public that while the mosquito-borne disease was all-year round, it was more common during the rainy season where there were more potential breeding sites for the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.