Dengue cases rise in Central Luzon

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines–The mosquito-borne dengue virus killed 10 residents in Central Luzon between January and May 19 this year, and had infected 5,172 more people for the same period, a report released by the regional Department of Health on Thursday showed.

Five of the deaths occurred in Nueva Ecija, two in Pampanga and one each in Bataan, Bulacan and Tarlac. No deaths were reported in Aurora and Zambales.

While the January-May 19 cases rose compared to the 4,527 cases for the same period in 2011, the regional DOH said the number of deaths declined from 19 to 10.

Dr. Leonita Gorgolon, DOH regional director, said the figures indicated the need for more community efforts at searching and destroying the breeding places of Aedes aegytpi mosquito.

Central Luzon ranked second among dengue-affected regions in 2011, tallying 25,839 cases and 56 deaths that year. The figures were 150 percent higher in 2010.

Local governments have undertaken information and cleanup campaigns but these efforts are hampered by the lack of funds to implement long-term programs, according to Dr. Jessie Fantone, head of the DOH regional epidemiological surveillance unit.

All 3,102 barangays in Central Luzon have not been spared from dengue, Fantone said. Most of the victims were children, he said, which prompted the DOH Central Luzon office to step up fumigation and the distribution of insecticide-treated curtains and a liquid formula that kills larvae.

On June 15, the DOH and the Philippine Information Agency will be piloting in the City of San Fernando a text blast messaging system at the barangay level to speed up alerts for help to people suspected of being downed by dengue.

Of the 200 reporting sites in the region, 70 percent are private hospitals. The capabilities of health professionals in handling dengue cases are also being updated.

The first-ever national observance of the ASEAN Dengue Day on June 15 will be hosted by the Pampanga capital, Gorgolon said. The theme is “ASEAN Unity for a Dengue-Free Community.”

The World Health Organization said dengue hemorrhagic fever was first recognized in the 1950s during epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand, and had spread since to the Americas and Asia.