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ILOILO CITY—The Department of Health in Western Visayas (DOH-6) has raised an alert over the rising cases of dengue fever in the region.
Dengue cases from Jan. 1 to May 14 reached 1,355, which is 75 percent higher than the 775 cases reported during the same period last year, according to DOH-6 spokesperson Dr. Bea Camille Fillaro-Natalaray.
Dengue cases were higher in the provinces of Aklan (39 percent), Antique (104 percent), Guimaras (27 percent), Iloilo (59 percent), Negros Occidental (205 percent), and Bacolod City (57 percent).
The number of cases was lower in Capiz province (9 percent).
About 40 percent of the cases involved children aged 1 to 10.
Bites of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes spread dengue viruses to people. There is no known cure, and the illness could be fatal.
The infection triggers a severe flu-like illness often followed by a sharp drop in an infected person’s platelet count.
High case fatality rate, or the percentage of deaths relative to the number of cases, has also been recorded in Bacolod and Iloilo cities
and Iloilo and Aklan provinces, from 2.6 to 2.7 percent.
Nineteen deaths were reported in the region as of May 14.
A dengue outbreak was declared in the region in 2019 when the number of cases reached more than 57,000.
Dengue task forces
Health officials were monitoring 44 barangays in the region, where a clustering of cases were occurring. Clustering refers to at least three dengue patients in four consecutive weeks.
The DOH6 office has advised local governments to re-activate dengue task forces up to the barangay level to prepare for the continued increase in patients, especially with the onset of the rainy season when cases usually increase.
Fillaro-Natalaray said residents experiencing fever should seek medical consultation.
She said common reasons for the delay in seeking consultation were the fear of being diagnosed as COVID-19-infected and the misconception that the fever is due to common flu.