Local health authorities raised concern over the six-fold increase in dengue fever cases in the city for the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year.
City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Head Donabel Panes said from Jan. 1 to Aug. 30, a total of 891 dengue fever cases were recorded in the various barangays compared with the 124 cases reported during the same period last year.
Age range of those who had dengue fever cases is one month to 90 years old.
Panes said majority of the dengue fever cases are males, which represent 53.1 percent of the cases while 13 percent of the cases belong to the 15 to 19 age group.
There are eight dengue-related deaths – an 18-year-old female and a three-year-old male from Camp 8 barangay, an 11-year-old male from Loakan Proper, a 65-year-old female from Victoria Village, a 15-year old male from Sto. Tomas Proper, a 47-year-old male from Upper Quirino-Magsaysay, a 16-year-old male from Honeymoon, and a six-year-old female from Engineers’ Hill.
Panes said there were clustering of cases in barangays BGH Compound, Camp 8, Camp 7, Pinsao Proper, Brookside, Camdas Subdivision, Asin road, Loakan Liwanag, Irisan, Sto. Tomas Proper, Loakan Proper, City Camp Proper, St. Joseph Village, Poliwes, Lower Quirino Hill, San Antonio Village, Hillside, San Luis Village, Lower Magsaysay, Fairview, Aurora Hill Proper, San Vicente, Guisad Central, Happy Hallow, Bakakeng Norte/Sur, Pinsao Pilot Project, Atok Trail, Kias, and Bakakeng Central.
Based on the five-year dengue fever data for the city from January to December, there were 2,808 cases reported in 2016; 500 cases in 2017; 434 cases in 2018; 839 cases in 2019; and 162 cases in 2020 while there were 891 cases in the last eight months this year.
Panes said dengue fever has established a cyclic trend where the number of cases drastically increases every three to four years. She said for this year, dengue fever cases are expected to significantly increase.
Panes urged residents, especially in the barangays that have reported clustering of cases, to sustain the search and destroy of breeding places of dengue carrying mosquitoes, seek early medical attention when experiencing symptoms, employ self-protection measures such as the wearing of long-sleeved clothes and say no to fogging except during outbreaks.
She reiterated the importance of getting rid of the breeding ground of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, such as containers of clear and stagnant water. – PIO release
April 20, 2024
