BACOLOD City – Barangay Mansilingan in this city has the highest number of dengue cases from Jan. 1 to April 8.
According to the City Health Office (CHO), the 10 barangays with the highest dengue cases are: Mansilingan with 16 cases, Granada and Pahanocoy with eight each; Estefania, Cabug, and Tangub with seven each; and Vista Alegre, Taculing, Mandalagan, and Singcang with six each.
One death was recorded in Barangay Villamonte, said Environment and Sanitation Division Chief Grace Tan of the CHO.
The city recorded a total of 112 dengue cases, 39.1 percent higher than last year in the same period with 87 cases and three deaths.
The affected age ranged from nine months to 66 years, added Tan, and most cases were from one to 10 years old.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes a severe flu-like illness that could be fatal if not managed well. Its carriers are day-biting mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti) that breed in clear, stagnant water.
In Western Visayas, Iloilo province listed the highest cases at 385, data from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the Department of Health Region 6 showed.
It is followed by Negros Occidental with 348 cases, Aklan (191), Capiz (136), Antique (133), Iloilo City (126), Bacolod City (112), and Guimaras (33). One case was contracted from another region but was detected in Western Visayas.
The CHO has been reiterating to the public the importance of practicing the 4S strategy against dengue: search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites; self-protection measures like wearing trousers and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; seek early treatment; and support fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas where an increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak./PN
