PALO, Leyte — The Department of Health (DOH) has expressed alarm over the rising number of dengue cases in Eastern Visayas early this year, with six deaths and 1,169 affected individuals.
The number of people who fell ill from Jan. 1 to Feb. 9 this year is about 48 percent higher than the 561 cases recorded in the same period in 2018.
“This is unusual since cases continue to increase since last year. It never happened in the past that dengue cases are up for two consecutive years,” said Leonido Olobia, DOH Eastern Visayas anti-dengue program coordinator in an interview Wednesday.
Of the 1,169 cases in the region so far this year, 396 have been recorded in Samar, 254 in Leyte, 244 in Northern Samar, 171 in Biliran, 65 in Eastern Samar, and 39 in Southern Leyte.
Dengue deaths have been reported in Kawayan, Biliran; General Macarthur, Eastern Samar, Tacloban City, and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
Based on DOH records, 2018 has the most number of cases since 2010 where about 12,000 people were afflicted by the mosquito-borne disease. In 2018, the Eastern Region had 11,000 cases with 61 deaths.
“We wrote letters to mayors in areas with dengue deaths last year for fear of spill over. We also talked to them and help them come up with strategies to protect people from dengue infection,” said DOH Regional Director Minerva Molon in an interview Wednesday.
The official asked city and town mayors to advise villages to organize clean-up campaigns focusing on the destruction of mosquito breeding places in their areas, and conduct community assembly in areas with dengue cases.
The official reiterated the DOH’s “4S” to fight dengue as an effective strategy to prevent cases and deaths.
These “4S” strategies are search and destroy mosquito breeding places, seek early consultation, self-protection method, and support fogging/spraying only in hot spot areas, where an increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks, to prevent an impending outbreak.
Dengue fever is marked by an onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, and pain behind the eyes, muscles, and joints. Some may develop rashes and varying degrees of bleeding in different parts of the body.
