PH mainly spared from dengue surge

REMAIN CALM AND CARRY ON A health worker sprays insecticide as part of the country’s fight against dengue. —Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said dengue cases numbered 17,033 nationwide from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7, about 17 percent lower than the 20,498 cases recorded in the previous two-week monitoring period from Oct. 6 to Oct. 19.

However, the department said total cases this year as of Nov. 16 is 340,860, which is 81 percent higher compared to the 188,574 recorded in the same period last year.

A total of 881 people died from dengue this year, with the case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.26 percent lower than the CFR of 0.34 percent in 2023.

READ: Make dengue top health priority

“The continuing decline of CFR despite the increase in new cases this year is due to timely screening, testing and correct treatment,” the DOH said in a statement.

The agency also said that in the past six weeks, no spike in cases were monitored in all regions but the arrival or belated and updated data may change the pronouncement.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue incidence has grown dramatically in recent decades with the most cases recorded in 2023, a historic high of over 6.5 million cases and more than 7,300 dengue-related deaths affecting over 80 countries in all regions of WHO.

Dengue has also been found to be spreading to new areas in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and South America.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, local cases have been reported in France, Italy and Spain as of September 2024.

Most cases globally have occurred in the region of the Pan American Health Organization (Paho) where over 11 million cases have been reported in 2024, 53 percent of these being laboratory confirmed.

The Washington-based Paho is a specialized agency of the UN responsible for international health cooperation in the Americas.

Since the beginning of 2024, over 13 million dengue cases and over 8,500 dengue-related deaths have been reported globally.

Changing times

The difference in data is mainly due to the difference in the definitions of territorial areas involved.

The WHO Region of the Americas reported 4.5 million cases, with 2,300 deaths for last year. In Asia, WHO reported high numbers of cases in Bangladesh (321,000), Malaysia (111,400), Thailand (150,000), and Vietnam (369,000).

The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in the WHO Regions of Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

The Americas, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions are the most seriously affected, with Asia representing around 70 percent of the global disease burden.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa reminded Filipinos in areas struck by Typhoons Kristine, Leon, Marce, Nika, Ofel and Pepito to renew their antidengue campaigns by searching for and eliminating stagnant water deposits where mosquitos carrying the dengue virus breed.

He said people with early dengue symptoms such as very high fever, severe headache, joint paints, vomiting, rashes, pain in the back of the eyeballs and swollen lymph nodes should be brought to the nearest hospital.

Symptoms appear four to 10 days after being bitten by the mosquito carrier and last up to two to seven days more. Most symptoms disappear in one to two weeks if the patient is given immediate medical treatment.

As dengue cure remains elusive, the public should avoid getting bitten by mosquitos, especially during daytime by covering their exposed skin, or using insect repellant, Herbosa added.