KALIBO, Aklan – A total of 112 dengue cases were recorded from Jan. 1 to June 11, 304 percent higher than the cases reported in the same period last year.
The province also logged two dengue deaths from Banga and Numancia towns, data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed.
Although Aklan is below the epidemic threshold, residents are being urged to wear protective clothes, destroy mosquito breeding sites and use mosquito repellents to reduce the risk of dengue infection.
“We must be ready to respond to an outbreak,” said Provincial Health Officer I Dr. Cornelio Cuachon Jr.
So far, Ibajay registered the most number of cases at 23. Malay recorded 20 dengue cases, followed by Kalibo with 17, Nabas with 11 and Numancia with 7.
Two barangays in Malay and Nabas had clusters of dengue cases.
Dengue vector surveillance in at-risk barangays will be conducted to identify larval species and to educate households to curb the spike of dengue fever cases, according to the PHO.
More than 35 percent of the dengue cases in the province are from the age group one to 10 years old (41 cases), followed by age group 11 to 20 years old (31 cases).
Of the total dengue cases, 54.4 percent or 61 cases came from female population and 45.6 percent or 51 cases from male population.
Cuachon advised the public to constantly clean their households and surroundings to get rid of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and can sometimes be fatal.
For the whole of 2021, Aklan reported 52 dengue cases only./PN
