Philippines: Dengue fever surges in the Visayas
Philippines health officials are reporting a increase in dengue fever throughout the western and eastern parts of the Visayas according to reports.
An Iloilo provincial official told AFP Saturday that the mosquito borne virus has affected 1,800 in Iloilo, killing 10.
Aedes mosquito Image/CDC
The 1,800 dengue cases reported so far in the province is 71 percent higher than that in the same period last year, provincial administrator Raul Banias told the news source.
With rainy season having just started, concern about dengue increases mount.
The numbers for dengue fever are up in the eastern Visayas also as the rainy season has contributed in the increase of dengue cases in the region.
Boyd Cerro, DOH regional sentinel nurse, revealed that this year’s dengue cases recorded from February to early June is 1,740 from 118 of the region’s 143 cities and municipalities. Record of the health department shows that of the 1,740 cases admitted in hospitals, 968 were in Leyte; 288 in Northern Samar; 204 in Eastern Samar; 186 in Samar; 60 in Southern Leyte; and 34 in Biliran, according to a Philippine Information Agency report.
The report goes on to say, last year’s recorded cases were 1,723 for the entire year while this year’s record is 1,740 from January to June, with the majority of the cases in children. Eleven people died from the disease in 2012 while this year’s death from the same disease is four.
In an effort to get a hold on the dengue problem, The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) launched a website last month called the Dengue Vector Surveillance website, that provides information on mosquito population per community, a move that will help curb dengue cases in the country.
Through the website, health workers can monitor possible dengue sites and recommend interventions to local government officials.
The site carries information on mosquito population nationwide, as well as dengue incidence and other mosquito-related facts.
Dengue fever is a endemic in the Philippines; however, while the number of cases this year is slightly lower nationwide, it has been spiking in certain areas such as the Visayas.
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