Dengue fever cases in Zambo City triple

Zamboanga City — Health authorities have expressed alarm over the rising cases of dengue fever which has killed a one-year-child and downed 153 others in six villages here since last January.

Dr. Rodelyn Agbulos, city health officer, said the figure was three times the number of dengue cases during the same period last year.

The Department of Health (DOH), however, has yet to receive any report about the dengue cases here.

Dr. Troy Gepte, DOH epidemiologist, said it would be quite surprising if there was, indeed, an outbreak of dengue fever here because the disease is associated with the rainy season.

"I cannot comment on that yet. We have no report yet from the field," he said.

Dengue fever is caused by the bites of Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species that thrives in clean but stagnant water. The mosquito can transmit the disease within its flying range of 50 kilometers.

The disease is characterized by fever and rashes, among other symptoms. It could be fatal when a patient suffers massive bleeding.

Agbulos said the local cases ranged from a one-year-old to a 62 years old, and 50 percent of them were males.

He suspects that one of the reasons for the rise in dengue cases here during summer is because most people stock up on rationed water.

"The water that the people are storing could be the possible breeding ground of these dengue-causing mosquitoes," he said.

City Mayor Celso Lobregat confirmed that this year’s cases are more than that in 2004. But he maintained that there was no outbreak.

"It’s quite alarming because there is an increase, but this does not mean it has reached the level that we can consider an outbreak," he said.

Lobregat said the city government has allocated funds for the purchase of more fogging machines. — Sheila Crisostomo, Roel Pareño