92,000 dengue cases in 9 months
THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) has monitored over 92,000 dengue cases nationwide over the last nine months, with seven regions registering an increased incidence of the deadly mosquito-borne disease.
The latest surveillance report showed that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 19, there were a total of 92,807 reported cases of dengue nationwide, which is 23.5 percent higher compared to figures culled during the same period last year.
Most of these cases were in Calabarzon and Central Luzon accounting for 15 percent each while 11 percent of the cases were in Metro Manila. The Ilocos region registered 18.8 percent of the cases while Northern Mindanao had 8.8 percent and Soccsksargen, 6 percent, according to the DOH report.
It also showed that dengue cases were up in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) and Metro Manila.
Surge in Ilocos
The Ilocos region registered a 93-percent surge in cases from 4,253 cases in 2014 to 8,136 this year while Cagayan Valley had a 176-percent increase from 2,057 last year to 5,677 cases.
Central Luzon and Calabarzon logged 14,127 and 14,082 cases of the mosquito-borne disease, accounting for a 119-percent and 95-percent surge, respectively.
ARMM registered a 41-percent spike with 1,445 dengue cases in the last nine months; CAR, 164 percent with 4,335 cases and Metro Manila, 156 percent with 10,385 cases.
The regions that have so far succeeded in bringing down the number of dengue cases this year were Mimaropa, Bicol region, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen and Caraga.
Vigilance
Health Secretary Janette Garin has appealed to the public to remain vigilant against dengue despite the onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
She also underscored the need to keep surroundings clean and to properly dispose empty jars, cans and tires that could become breeding sites of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
“It is not safe to be complacent even if there’s El Niño weather. We always have to observe cleanliness in the community to prevent the spread of dengue,” said Garin.
