Dengue cases up 6.6%

The Department of Health (DOH) is now surveying all barangays nationwide to determine potential hot spots of mosquito-borne dengue fever.

This, as the department’s National Epidemic Sentinel Surveillance System recorded 7,541 dengue cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 17, representing a 6.6 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

Metro Manila accounted for the majority of the cases, at 1,262, followed by Western Visayas, with 944, and Central Mindanao, with 862.

Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, coordinator of the DOH’s National Dengue Program, said health personnel are making the rounds of the different barangays to collect mosquito larvae (kiti-kiti) that will be examined to determine if there are dengue-causing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in these communities.

"Actually, this is a year-round activity for us. We want to know which areas have a high concentration of Aedes aegypti so we can prevent a possible outbreak of dengue," he said. — Sheila Crisostomo