ILOILO City – Dengue hemorrhagic fever claimed three more lives in Western Visayas (WV) in just a span of one week, data from the Department of Health 6 (DOH-6) shows.
During Morbidity Week 22 or from May 29 to June 4, 2022, the provinces of Aklan, Antique and Negros Occidental recorded one new death each, bringing the total dengue deaths in the region to 23.
The DOH-6 has also recorded 354 additional dengue cases in the region during the same morbidity week.
Negros Occidental logged the highest number of new cases at 143, followed by Antique with 93; Iloilo province – 53, Bacolod City – 23, Capiz – 22, Aklan – 9, Iloilo City – 9, and Guimaras – 2.
From January 1 to June 4 this year, Western Visayas has a total of 2,520 dengue cases, based on the DOH-6 data.
Meanwhile, 136 barangays in the region registered clustering of dengue cases from May 8 to June 4.
Sixty six of these barangays were from Negros Occidental, 39 from Antique, 12 from Bacolod City, 10 from Iloilo province, four from Capiz, three from Iloilo City, and one each from Aklan and Guimaras.
There is clustering if there are at least three cases within four consecutive weeks.
Dengue is caused by day-biting Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that breed in clean, stagnant water.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea / vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rashes.
For severe dengue, the warning signs to look out for are: severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in vomit, fatigue, and restlessness./PN
