2012 dengue cases may surpass 2011 data

MANILA, Philippines – Barely into the third quarter of the year, the number of dengue cases is nearing to surpass last year’s data, the Department of Health’s Disease Surveillance Report showed yesterday.

Based on the report, a total of 3,410 cases were registered from Jan. 1 to Aug. 25, 2012. This is 106.54 higher than the 1,651 cases recorded during the same period last year.

The figure, however, is just 1,442 cases short of the 4,852 cases for the whole of 2011.

The high number of cases this year was attributed to the massive flooding brought about by the southwest monsoon in August.

The report also showed that the month of January posted the highest number of cases at 1,307 because of the flashflood that hit Cagayan de Oro in late 2011.

The month of August followed with 1,030 cases due to the monsoon flooding.

“Ages ranged from less than two months to 93 years old. Majority (80.9 percent) of the cases reported were male. Most (27.8) of the cases belonged to the 21-30 years age group,” the report stated.

The report revealed that of the 3,410 cases, Metro Manila accounted for 27.51 percent, followed by Northern Mindanao with 27.13 percent and Western Visayas with 13.9 percent.

The City of Manila topped the list with 236 cases, followed by Quezon City with 158; Malabon with 116; Caloocan City with 82; Valenzuela with 53 and Parañaque with 51.