BACOLOD City – There are now nine deaths due to dengue in this capital city.
One case involved a 3-year-old boy from Barangay Mandalagan. He was brought to the Riverside Medical Center on Sept. 24 and expired four days later.
Before him, another boy, 6, from Barangay Taculing also died of dengue. He was rushed to the South Bacolod General Hospital on Sept. 20 and died the following day.
These deaths were the latest addition to the seven fatalities due to the mosquito-borne disease from January to Sept. 29 in Bacolod, according to the City Health Office (CHO).
Last year, the CHO recorded 10 deaths.
Most of the fatalities this year were children aged 3 to 11. One was a 23-year-old, the CHO added.
But CHO Environment and Sanitation Division head Dr. Grace Tan said as of September, the number of dengue cases in Bacolod dropped 38.1 percent.
Barangay Handumanan still has the highest number of dengue cases with 93, CHO records showed.
Mansilingan followed with 80, then Taculing with 79, Estefania with 74, Villamonte with 60, Sum-Ag with 57, Singcang-Airport, 55, Alijis, 51, Pahanocoy, 41, and Granada and Tangub, 37 each.
Tan urged Bacolodnons to observe the “4S” to fight dengue – searching and destroying mosquito-breeding places, self-protection measures, seeking early consultation, and saying no to indiscriminate fogging.
Dengue is a viral infection that causes a severe flu-like illness. It can cause a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue, according to the World Health Organization.
Its symptoms include severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rash./PN
