BACOLOD City – A total of 427 dengue cases have been recorded in this city from January to May 18, according to the City Health Office (CHO).
Grace Tan, head of CHO’s Environment and Sanitation Division, said the record is 78-percent higher compared to the 240 cases in the same period last year.
But only one died of dengue so far this year. Last year there were three fatalities.
Barangay Estefania has the highest incidence of the mosquito-borne disease, followed by Taculing, Pahanocoy, Handumanan, Mansilingan, Granada, Mandalagan, Alijis, and Singcang-Airport.
The specific number of cases per barangay was not immediately available.
Tan advised the public to be wary against dengue especially that the rainy season is approaching.
She encouraged Bacolodnons to always maintain cleanliness in their surroundings to eliminate the breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
The dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti.
The virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, according to the World Health Organization.
Dengue is characterized by a high fever (40°C/104°F) which accompanied by two of these symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, or rash.
Last month, the Department of Health Region 6 reported 14 dengue-related fatalities in Negros Occidental – 98 percent higher compared to that in the same period in 2018./PN
