BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The city of Himamaylan in Negros Occidental currently has the highest number of dengue cases in the province, data released by the Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed.
For Morbidity Week #24 as of June 18, Himamaylan City had 142 dengue cases with one fatality recorded.
Also in the list with the most number of dengue cases in the province are Kabankalan City with 118; San Carlos City with 111; Hinigaran with 107 with one fatality; and La Carlota City with 92 cases and one fatality.
The highest total increase is the town of Calatrava which recorded an enormous 2,600 percent at 54 cases with two fatalities.
The PHO added in its surveillance report that dengue cases in the province as a whole increased by 557.79 percent or 1,110 cases more compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile the local government units with the least number of dengue cases are Victorias City which recorded only nine cases; E.B. Magalona and Don Salvador Benedicto with six cases each; and La Castellana with only five dengue cases.
Victorias City also recorded the highest reduction in dengue cases with a 43.75 percent decrease compared to the same period last year when they recorded 16 cases.
Earlier, PHO head Dr. Ernell Tumimbang said the province’s dengue cases have now become an immediate concern and they are trying to expedite their response in order to prevent the province’s dengue situation from further escalating.
Tumimbang said they are continuing their entomological surveillance in the province’s 31 towns and cities, particularly destroying places where dengue-carrying mosquitoes could breed.
The two mosquitoes known to spread dengue are the Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus.
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./PN
