BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The number of fatalities due to dengue in Negros Occidental is now at 10, according to the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
As of July 2 it recorded 1,800 dengue cases.
Himamaylan City currently has the most number of cases – 179 – in Negros Occidental.
But PHO head Dr. Ernell Tumimbang stressed that despite the increase, Negros Occidental remains within the alert threshold and not yet on an epidemic level.
Also, Tumimbang said, the PHO does not recommend fogging for local government units (LGUs) that have yet to reach or breach the epidemic threshold.
In the meantime, the PHO is sticking with the use of larvicides, an insecticide specifically targeted to kill mosquitoes in their larval stage.
Earlier, the City Health Office in Bacolod reported five dengue-related fatalities in the past six months.
The fatalities were an 11-year-old boy from Barangay Singcang-Airport; a 20-year-old woman from Barangay Pahanocoy; a 19-year-old man from Barangay Sum-ag; a 75-year-old male from Barangay Tangub; and a three-year-old girl from Barangay Mansilingan.
CHO data also showed dengue cases in Bacolod City at 279 since January – a 179 percent increase from the 100 cases with two fatalities recorded in the same period in 2021.
Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness that could sometimes be fatal.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea / vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rashes.
For severe dengue, the warning signs to look out for are: severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in vomit, fatigue, and restlessness.
The two mosquitoes known to spread dengue are the Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus./PN
