Dengue monitoring on in Metro, 21 provinces

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) is now closely observing several barangays in Metro Manila and 21 provinces for having clustering of dengue cases, a report showed yesterday.

The Disease Surveillance Report prepared by the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center showed that from Jan. 1 to March 27, a total of 11,871 dengue cases, including 77 deaths, have been registered in various sentinel hospitals nationwide.

The figure is 51.6 percent higher than the 7,832 cases recorded during the same period in 2009.

The report showed that most of the cases came from Metro Manila (14.2 percent), Central Visayas (12.9 percent), Eastern Visayas (11.7 percent), Calabarzon (9.7 percent), Davao (8.4 percent), and Western Visayas (eight percent).

The DOH said clustering or concentration of dengue cases has been observed in several barangays in Metro Manila and 21 provinces – La Union, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Marinduque, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur, and Surigao del Norte.

The report said the youngest dengue victim was one month old, and the oldest, 90 years old. Fifty-two percent of the victims were males.

The DOH warned that dengue is already a year-round disease so the public should not be complacent just because it is summer.

Dengue is spread by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes which bite during the day and are characterized by white strips on their legs.

The DOH said these mosquitoes could also thrive in containers, flower vases, basins and even bottle crowns, among others, that have clean but stagnant water so a dengue outbreak is still possible during summer.

It advised the public to keep water containers covered and always replace the water in flower vases to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in them.