By Perla Lena/PNA
ILOILO CITY — Dengue fever already claimed 26 lives in Western Visayas based on the 11th morbidity week of monitoring by the Department of Health –Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD).
The 26 deaths came from Negros Occidental with 14; Aklan and Iloilo provinces and Iloilo City with three each; Capiz, two; and Bacolod City with one.
Regional epidemiologist Dr. Jessie Glen L. Alonsabe said that as of January to March 16, dengue cases in the region reached 4,347 or an increase of 142 percent when compared with the 1,794 cases and 11 deaths in the same period last year.
The highest increase was in Guimaras with 738 percent or from eight cases for the same period last year to 67 cases, with no death.
Meantime, Negros Occidental posted a 98 percent increase having 1,450 cases from 733 last year with the highest number of deaths at 14.
While other provinces are experiencing a climb in the number of patients, Antique’s dengue cases dropped by 21 percent, with 96 cases from 121 in last year’s January to March period.
Alonsabe, in an interview Tuesday, said that even if the region is experiencing the dry spell, dengue fever still persists because people are improperly storing water.
“Supposedly the advisory is for them to clean their water containers on a weekly basis because the more they store water, the more there will be breeding places for mosquitoes,” he said.
Alonsabe added that water containers have to be cleaned thoroughly to remove mosquito eggs.
He also affirmed that dengue-carrying mosquitoes usually go out two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset; which happens to be their feeding time.
“That is why children are vulnerable because that is the time when they go to school. Hopefully the cases will decline because there are no more classes. But we also have to wary of cases happening in households,” he added.
The DOH data showed that the age range for those affected by dengue is between one month and 87 years old, the median age is 10 years old, and the age group with the most number of cases is between one to 10 years old.