ILOILO – From Jan. 1 to March 2 this year, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded 617 dengue cases with four deaths – 260.8 percent higher than the 171 cases but with no deaths reported in the same period last year.
Provincial Health Office (PHO) chief Dr. Patricia Grace Trabado urged residents to continue cleaning their surroundings to deny dengue mosquitoes of their habitat.
Aedes egypti and aedes albopictus mosquitoes breed and live in clean stagnant water.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an acute mosquito-borne viral infection that affects infants, young children and adults.
The symptoms, which usually begin four to six days after infection, include sudden, high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, skin rash which appears two to five days after the onset of fever, and even mild bleeding (such a nose bleed, bleeding gums, or easy bruising).
The 10 areas with the most number of dengue cases were the following:
* Pototan – 100, with one death
* Passi City – 54
* Lambunao – 31
* Concepcion – 31, with one death
* Bingawan – 27, with one death
* Barotac Viejo – 27
* Calinog – 24
* Pavia – 22
* Estancia – 22
* Sara – 19
The municipality of New Lucena reported one dengue-related death; it was also its lone dengue case.
Trabado said the increase in the number of dengue cases did not surprise her, citing a trend that PHO established using past records – every three years the province experienced a surge in cases.
It was in 2016 when Iloilo last had a big spike in dengue cases, said Trabado.
“We have been dutifully monitoring the number of cases since January. We expect a spike because we know Iloilo is entering another three-year cycle of dengue surge,” she added.
Of particular concern to the PHO is the clustering of cases (three or more cases detected within four weeks) in certain areas.
Trabado reiterated the 4S strategy in combatting dengue:
* search and destroy mosquito breeding places
* self-protection measures
* seek early consultation for fever lasting more than two days
* say “no” to indiscriminate fogging./PN
