DOH notes drop in dengue cases

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) has observed a sharp decline in the number of dengue cases from January to April this year compared to the same period last year.

A monthly monitoring report showed that the health agency culled 19,068 reported cases of the mosquito-borne disease in four months, accounting for a 24.1-percent dive from the figures reported during the same period in 2011.  At least 107 deaths due to the disease were also recorded.

Records showed that there were 25,124 cases of dengue fever and 156 deaths from January to April 14 last year.

Still, most of the reported cases this year were traced to Metro Manila, accounting for 27.2 percent or 5,190 cases of the total figure.

But the DOH also noted a decrease in the number of dengue incidents this year in the capital. It accounted for 7,070 cases during the same period last year, according to the health agency.

Central Luzon accounted for the second biggest number of cases this year with 4,272 incidents followed by Calabarzon with 3,072 cases.

The majority of the cases were male.  At least 39 percent of the cases involved children aged between one and 10, said the DOH.