The Philippine Online Chronicles

At least 2,000 new dengue cases were recorded this month according to the Department of Health (DOH), a total of 45,333 dengue cases in the country from January 1 to August 6 this year. Out of these reported cases, 267 individuals have already been killed by the disease.

Health Secretary T. Ona reported that most cases came from the National Capital Region (9,229), Central Luzon (6,365), and CALABARZON (5,649), Ilocos Region (3,432), and Cagayan Valley (2,737).

In the National Capital Region, Quezon City (2,574) and Manila (1,040) had the most number of cases followed by Caloocan (1,104), Pasig (804), and Valenzuela (664).

Ages of cases ranged from less than a month to 92 years old. Majority (54%) of the cases were male. Most of the cases belonged to the 1-10 years age group. Most deaths occur also in the 1-10 years age group.

Despite this alarming figures, DOH National Epidemiology Center chief Dr. Eric Tayag clarified that the number of dengue cases is lower by 33.5 percent for the same period of last year.

DOH warned the public and various local governments not to be complacent against dengue.

"We have succeeded in bringing down the cases of dengue and but we must avoid complacency. Instead, our gains should encourage us to keep up the good work in combating Dengue." said Ona as he called on the local governments, community leaders, and the public in general to maintain its efforts against Dengue.

"As the rainy season continues, we need to continue organizing clean-up campaigns in barangays to destroy every possible dengue breeding site." added the health chief.

DOH is closely monitoring 3 areas in Quezon City – in Fairview, Payatas and Pansol where the number of dengue cases has continued to rise. In La Union, provincial officials declared the province under a state of calamity due to the continuous rise in the number of dengue cases that has already breached the 2,000 mark.

Hotspots were observed in some areas in Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan, Benguet, and Metro Manila.

An area is considered a hotspot when there are clustering of cases with increasing number in two consecutive weeks.

In La Union, Bauang, Balaoan and San Juan towns registered high incidence of dengue prompting the provincial government to declare a state of calamity. Dr. Hector Beñas, La Union Provincial Health Officer, said that as of Friday, there have already been 2,030 new cases of dengue in the province with seven fatalities, including a 21-year-old female nursing student and a young doctor, Manila Bulletin reported.

The Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit in San Fernando, La Union reported that a total of 4,665 dengue cases in Region 1 were admitted from January 1 to August 2 this year. This is 222 percent higher than the number of cases in the region reported in the same period last year.

DoH reports showed the dengue cases in Ilocos Sur had already reached 1, 611 cases with 10 fatalities.

Symptoms of dengue include headache, fever, muscle and joint pains and skin rashes. In extreme cases, bleeding of the gums and nose may occur.