2 more dengue deaths in Isabela

MANILA, Philippines - Two boys, aged seven and 15, died of dengue in Santiago City, Isabela, as Malacañang rejected proposals to declare a state of calamity nationwide.

Ten people have already died from the virus in Cagayan Valley.

Santiago Mayor Amelita Navarro has declared a dengue outbreak in the city.

The declaration will allow the city government to allocate more funds to undertake measures to contain the disease caused by the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Reports said that the city has reported at least 90 dengue cases this year.

Other parts of Isabela have 116 monitored cases.

Cagayan Valley has already exceeded the 1,000 mark in dengue cases, with at least 10 deaths this year, according to reports.

Tuguegarao City, capital of Cagayan province has also declared a dengue outbreak.

Based on reports, Cagayan has the highest number of cases at 566; followed by Nueva Vizcaya at 479 cases, 261 of which were monitored last August.

Quirino province has 41 dengue cases, while no cases had been reported in Batanes.

Speaking over state-run dzRB radio, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the government sees no compelling need to declare a state of calamity based on reports it has been receiving.

“There is not enough basis yet to declare a national calamity,” he said.

“On a national level, there is still no unusual increase in the number of dengue cases. There is no new data on this.”

Coloma said the Department of Health is already addressing the rising dengue cases in Quezon City.

“For now, what is important is an intensified information campaign against the disease, which the administration of President Aquino is doing, spearheaded by the DOH under Secretary Enrique Ona and other concerned agencies, including local government units,” he said.

Coloma said the reported surge of dengue in Quezon City does not reflect on a national scale.

“Walang bagong lugar kaya hinihintay pa po nila ang datos na papasok dahil ayaw din po ng DOH na mag create ng panic (The DOH is still awaiting data from other places and does not want to create panic),” he said.

“Ginagawa po ang lahat lalawigan at iba pang rehiyon sa monitoring ng DOH. (All provinces and regions are complying with DOH monitoring).”

Ona said a downward trend of dengue cases has also been observed, starting this month.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 28 this year, the DOH recorded 69,594 cases, almost double the 34,997 cases during the same period in 2009.

The death toll from dengue has reached 501, compared to 369 last year.

Ona said the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City used to have around 100 dengue consultations a day, with 15 of the patients admitted to the hospital.

“There has been a trending since the last week of August to the early days of September,” he said.

“The good news is that it seems to be leveling off already.”

Ona said recently, the hospital received only 20 to 30 consultations, including seven admissions.

“Cases peaked in August but it seems to be going down now. That’s the natural course of a disease,” he said.

Ona has directed the DOH to temporarily suspend the conduct of seminars to enable health workers to focus on the anti-dengue campaign.

Ona said although many regions see a decline in dengue cases, the number of patients in Metro Manila continues to increase.

The elimination of breeding sites of mosquitoes should continue to sustain the downward trend of dengue cases, he added.

DOH records showed that 16.8 percent of the 69,594 dengue cases came from Western Visayas; 11 percent from Calabarzon; 10.2 percent from Soccsksargen; 9.5 percent from Eastern Visayas; 8.9 percent from Metro Manila and 7.7 percent from Davao region.

The DOH is verifying reports of a dengue outbreak in Iloilo City and Zamboanga City.

The government, though its media networks nationwide, has launched an intensified campaign to contain the outbreak of dengue, which has reportedly reached its peak of more than 60,000 cases.

Last week, the DOH recorded a 98.9 percent increase in the number of dengue cases for the first eight months of this year compared with the same period in 2009. - With Delon Porcalla