MANILA, Philippines?Dengue fever cases have slightly dropped for the past three weeks nationwide, but the number was still slowly rising in Metro Manila, according to health officials.

?The situation appears to be slowly receding according to our expectation ? [and] the trend is very similar to what it was in the past [years],? Health Secretary Enrique Ona told reporters Tuesday.

The Department of Health (DoH) listed 69,594 cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, from January to Aug. 28. For the Aug. 22-28 period, the agency monitored 7,091 new cases, slightly lower than the 7,844 recorded for Aug. 15-21.

A total of 501 people have died, but the rate of fatality was still lower at 0.73 percent compared to 1.1 percent for the same period last year.

According to the Department of Education (DepEd), 58 students have died since the surge of cases in the school year?s opening in July.

In a briefing, Ona disclosed the gradual downtrend of dengue cases, which peaked in the first week of August, in several regions.

Citing the latest weekly monitoring, he acknowledged that the incidence across the country from January to August was already 99 percent higher than that for the same period in 2009.

?August was the peak ? but we are still on our toes with regards to monitoring the continued effort of our local governments and health workers in preventing this disease,? Ona said.

Natural course

The health secretary said the cases this year were already gradually ?leveling off? and were expected to go down further this month. ?It?s the natural course of the disease,? he said when asked what caused the downturn.

In Western Visayas, the number of cases went down from its highest of 1,670 during the first seven days of August to 931 for Aug. 15-21. The DoH recorded 34 cases for Aug. 22-28.

The health department also noted a similar pattern in Soccsksargen, where dengue cases dwindled from 319 (Aug. 1-7) to 71 (Aug. 15 to 21) and one (Aug. 22-28).

Cases in Calabarzon waned from a peak of 786 (Aug. 1-7) to 648 (Aug. 21-27) and 146 (Aug. 22-28.)

In earlier monitoring reports by the health agency, most of the dengue cases were from Western Visayas, Soccsksargen and Calabarzon. A similar trend was monitored in 11 other regions.

Metro incidence

In Metro Manila, however, the number of cases gradually rose by 16 percent, particularly in the cities of Marikina and Mandaluyong. Cases in Metro Manila climbed from 450 (July 25-31) to 730 (Aug. 15-21).

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center, said the upward trend was expected because of the capital?s dense population. Health officials have said that the dengue virus-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito thrives in populated urban areas.

The DepEd?s Health and Nutrition Center reported that 4,738 elementary and high school students had been confirmed to have contracted dengue fever. It collated reports from health officials of schools across the country, but did not disclose their locations.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro ordered regional directors and school division superintendents to strengthen their dengue prevention campaign on campus.

?We call on the parents, students, teachers and school officials to be mindful of their health, take extra precaution, and to be watchful for any symptoms pointing to dengue to prevent the outbreak,? Luistro said in a statement Tuesday.

?We should work together to contain the outbreak of dengue. Students? welfare should be our primary concern,? he said.

DepEd actions

The DepEd earlier devised the Preventive Alert System in Schools (PASS), an information relay system that encourages school communities to relay information about a student?s or teacher?s health condition to medical workers.

The department issued a memorandum reiterating its support for the DoH anti-dengue campaign and advised students to undertake self-protection measures by wearing clothes that cover the skin from mosquito exposure, early consultation, and avoiding indiscriminate fogging.

Regional and division offices of the DepEd have been holding information drives and meetings with parents to boost prevention efforts.

?The most potent key to control diseases is to empower our people with correct information so they can take necessary action to stop the transmission through timely and vigilant health-seeking behaviors,? said Gloria D. Benigno, the DepEd director for Caraga.

The Caraga office recently gathered parents, school officials and teachers in a seminar on sanitation and other mosquito-borne diseases.

In Southern Tagalog, education and health officials worked together in cleanup operations to clear mosquito breeding places.

In Quezon City, now a hot spot of dengue cases, school officials recently held a ?dengue buster? seminar that centered on prevention efforts at home and on campus.

Ona on Tuesday ordered the temporary suspension of all out-of-town seminars and trainings of government doctors and local health workers to give more attention to patients suffering from the dengue virus.

Ona said he decided on the postponement as hospitals grappled to attend to thousands of dengue patients seeking medical help.