Dengue cases down 51 pct in Phl

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Dengue cases in the Philippines declined by 51 percent to 18,611 in the January-April period this year from 38,087 recorded a year earlier, the health department said today.

The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) said the death toll from dengue reached 80, which represented a drop of 50 percent from 161 a year ago.

The DOH said majority of the dengue cases were recorded in central Luzon and Region IV-A in northern Philippines, standing at 2,198 and 2,119 respectively. The Philippine capital region of Metro Manila recorded 1,854 cases during the period while Eastern Visayas in central Philippines had 1,655 cases.

The health authority attributed the decline in dengue cases to the country's efforts to increase the public's awareness about the need to seek and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

The dengue virus is transmitted by infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of dengue include high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands or rash.