Nearly 10K new dengue cases in just a week

Dengue is still raging and claiming more lives in the country.

In just one week, from Sept. 8 to 14, 9,815 dengue cases were recorded across the country, up 35 percent from the same period last year, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

The health department said 37 people died during the week.

Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 14, 307,704 dengue cases were reported nationwide while the number of deaths from the disease reached 1,247, according to the Epidemiology Bureau.

The number of cases was 116 percent higher than the 142,783 reported during the same period in 2018.

Among the regions, Calabarzon reported the biggest number of dengue cases with 49,661 and 152 deaths.

Other regions that reported a high prevalence of dengue were Western Visayas (49,068 cases, 214 deaths); Metro Manila (23,251 cases, 122 deaths); Central Luzon (23,046 cases, 61 deaths); and Northern Mindanao (21,649 cases, 80 deaths).

Children

Children 5 to 9 years old accounted for nearly a quarter of all reported cases and 38 percent of all recorded deaths.

The DOH said dengue afflicted children 4 and under (16 percent of all cases), those 10 to 14 (20 percent) and 15 to 19 (15 percent).

The health department earlier appealed to local officials to do “a little more” to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

The DOH recommends insecticide fogging in areas where a rise in the number of cases has been recorded for two consecutive weeks.

It also reminded the public that one of the most effective ways to control the spread of the disease is by ensuring cleanliness in communities so that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus, would not be able to breed.

Parents should suspect dengue if their child has fever accompanied by headache, pain behind the eyes or muscle and joint pain for at least two days, the DOH added.