Danao tops dengue cases in province

DANAO City tops this year’s list of dengue cases in Cebu’s rural areas, a Capitol health official said yesterday.

Danao City recorded 136 dengue cases from January to August this year, said Dr. Cristina Giango, Integrated Provincial Health Office chief.

Danao is followed by Talisay City with 65 cases, Minglanilla town with 61 cases and Balamban with 57 cases. The list excludes Metro Cebu cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.

Next on the list are San Fernando (48), Consolacion and Liloan towns (35), Naga City (33), Compostela (32) and Bogo City (24).

Danao only ranked fifth last year in dengue with 200 cases. Cebu registered 1,542 dengue cases from January to Aug. 15 last year, but it recorded only 788 cases for the same period this year.

In Central Visayas, the Department of Health-7 reported 2,601 cases from January to August in Central Visayas with 18 deaths.

The Regional Epidemiological and Surveillance Unit of Central Visayas (RESU-7) said it is still lower than the 4,810 cases with 37 deaths recorded for the same period last year. Affected patients are between one-month-old to 79 years old.

Cebu City still had the most number of dengue cases in the region with 917 patients and eight deaths followed by Lapu-Lapu City with 161 cases and one death. Mandaue City came next with 151 cases and one death.

Local health officials urged communities to clean up possible breeding places for dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus