KALIBO, Aklan – Dengue cases in the province of Aklan almost topped the 500-mark, the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6’s Regional Vector-borne Diseases Program reported.
As of May 11 this year, the province recorded a cumulative tally of 467 and one death.
Aklan accounted for 16 percent of total dengue infections in the region from January 1 to May 11 this year.
The province also had 23 new dengue cases from May 5 to 11 for morbidity week 19 updates.
Iloilo, the hardest-hit province in the region, reported 880 dengues cases, followed by Aklan, Negros Occidental (398), Capiz (388), Antique (221), and Guimaras (147).
The highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod tallied 213 and 123 dengue cases, respectively.
There have been 2,837 cases from January 1 to May 11 in Western Visayas – 18 percent higher than the 2,411 cases in the same period last year.
According to DOH-6, all provinces in the region except for Negros Occidental had increased attack rate of dengue with 22 barangays have clustering of cases.
Dengue is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates.
The most common symptoms are body aches, rash, high fever, nausea and headache.
Most get better in one to two weeks. Some people develop severe dengue and need care in a hospital, according to World Health Organization./PN
