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MANILA: The Philippines recorded 9,176 cases of dengue fever
nationwide from January 1 to April 5 this year, almost a 34 percent
increase of over the same period last year, the health department
said Saturday.
Deaths due to dengue fever reached 108 in the
year to April 5, a sharp increase from the 74 deaths recorded in the
same period last year, according to figures released by the
department.
Based on the report, which came from the Health
Department’s National Epidemiology Center, there are already a
total of 9,176 dengue cases admitted in various hospitals
nationwide. Of this figure, 108 reportedly died due to the disease,
for a one-percent mortality rate.
Majority of the victims were male. The youngest
victim is a one month old, while the oldest is aged 87 years. Health
officials did not give a reason for the increase in the number of
cases.
The nation’s capital of Manila had the most
cases recorded with 2,832, the department said. The Manila Health
Department’s own figures, however, say that the number of dengue
patients in the city is a bit higher at 702.
Due to this high dengue incidence, Mayor Alfredo
Lim of Manila has ordered intensified preventive measures and
improved information and educational campaigns against dengue in the
city’s barangays.
Other regions that had higher cases of dengue
are Central Visayas, with 1326, Central Luzon with 1,218, Calabarzon
with 867 and the Zamboanga Peninsula with 713.
Only 6,855 dengue cases were reported last year,
making it a 33.9 increase in the number of dengue cases. Only 17
deaths were also reported.
World Health Organization officials earlier this
year warned that climate change was increasing the incidence of
dengue fever and other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid
fever and several cardio-respiratory diseases in this country.
A dengue outbreak occurred in the country in
1998, where more than 35,000 dengue cases were recorded. The health
department associates attributed the incident with the El Niño
phenomenon that occurred during the same year.
There is no known cure or vaccine to fight
dengue fever, which is transmitted by the white-spotted mosquito.
-- AFP
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