Dengue cases up in Cordillera

BAGUIO CITY—The number of dengue patients has risen in this city and Benguet province, putting these communities on alert as the monsoon season starts.

But dengue vaccines, which are available commercially, are still too expensive for the average Cordilleran households, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday. Each person needs three injections of the vaccine, which costs P4,000 per dosage.

From January to July, dengue patients treated in Baguio reached 1,199, higher than the 239 treated for the same period in 2015, said Dr. Lakshmi Legaspi, DOH Cordillera director.

Benguet recorded 1,483 dengue patients from January to July, exceeding the 437 patients treated there last year, Legaspi said.

Other Cordillera provinces showed a decrease in dengue cases. Dengue has killed nine patients, including a 7-month-old baby from Bucay town in Abra province.

Dengue has killed three patients in Benguet, two in Kalinga province, two in Abra and one each in Ifugao province and Baguio, according to DOH records.

Legaspi said DOH has promoted massive cleaning of creeks and canals in communities.

DOH has piloted a free antidengue vaccination program in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Luzon, which have recorded the highest number of dengue cases.  Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon