ILOILO City – Thirty-eight people in Western Visayas died of dengue as the number of cases reached almost 6,000, according to the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6.
Among provinces, Negros Occidental still had the most number of cases while majority of those struck by the viral disease were girls aged one to 10 years old, records showed.
DOH-6 monitored 5,583 cases from January to July 28, said Dr. Rose Marie Lamirez, the agency’s dengue medical program coordinator.
Negros Occidental had 2,623 cases with 22 deaths. In the same period last year it had 1,848 cases with 24 deaths – also the most-affected province at the time.
Cases and deaths in other provinces and cities in the region during the January-July 28 period this year were as follows:
* Aklan – 741 cases with two deaths
* Iloilo – 689 with two deaths
* Bacolod City – 455 with three deaths
* Capiz – 382 with two deaths
* Antique – 353 with three deaths
* Iloilo City – 211 with two deaths
* Guimaras – 59 with one death
* Others (not natives of the region) – 70 with one death
In the same period in 2017 the number of dengue cases in Western Visayas reached 4,339 cases with 38 deaths, DOH records showed.
Latest data showed that dengue affected people aged one month old up to 88 years old, Lamirez said.
Most of the victims were children from the one to 10 years old age group, said the DOH official.
“Ang pinakadamo diri (sa most-affected age group) are females nga naglab-ot sa 1,149 while (ang) males, 1,137,” she said.
Lamirez attributed the rise in the number of cases to the rainy season.
“Rains create stagnant water in some areas,” she said. “Stagnant water is a breeding ground of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.”
Lamirez advised the public to clean their surroundings and cover all water containers where mosquitoes may lay their eggs.
This is part of the “4S” strategy that the Health department has been promoting for years already to fight the viral disease – “Search” and destroy mosquito breeding places.
The others are “Self-protection” measures, “Seek” early consultation for fever lasting more than two days, and “Say ‘no’” to indiscriminate fogging.
Dengue is a viral disease that has Aegis aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes as vectors (carriers).
Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and/or bone pain, rashes, and mild nose or gum bleeding or bruising.
The DOH-6 distributes to provinces larvicides that hamper the breeding of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, added Lamirez./PN
