ILOILO City – Western Visayas has recorded 5,500 dengue cases with 24 deaths as of Oct. 23, data from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 showed.
This is 61 percent less than last year’s record, with 14,094 cases and 76 deaths.
The breakdown of dengue cases is as follows:
* Aklan – 848 cases with four deaths
* Antique – 263 cases with zero deaths
* Bacolod City – 480 cases with three deaths
* Capiz – 712 cases with three deaths
* Guimaras – 185 cases with one death
* Iloilo City – 825 cases with three deaths
* Iloilo province – 1,287 cases with three deaths
* Negros Occidental – 910 cases with seven deaths
Dengue is detected in people aged 23 days to 82 years old.
Children aged one to 10 years old had the most dengue cases, or 45 percent of the total recorded cases.
Based on 2023 morbidity week 43, or from Oct. 22 to 28, the region had 81 newly reported dengue cases. This is lower than in morbidity week 42 (Oct. 15-21), with 240 cases.
The top three localities with the highest number of newly reported dengue cases for morbidity week 43 are:
* Iloilo province – 26 new cases (1,287 total cases)
* Iloilo City – 16 new cases (825 total cases)
* Aklan – 13 new cases (848 total cases)
DOH-6 emphasized that the reported case counts are subject to change after including delayed reports and verified cases.
“No new dengue fatalities have been recorded as of Oct. 28. The total regional dengue death count remains at 224,” DOH-6 said.
Further, 31 barangays in the region showed a clustering of dengue cases. Clustering of cases is noted if three or more cases are reported within the last four consecutive weeks.
Here, the DOH-6 renewed its call to the public to observe the 4S strategy against dengue.
The 4S strategy to prevent the spread of dengue includes search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; taking self-protection measures like wearing trousers and long-sleeved shirts and using mosquito repellent; seek early treatment; and support fogging or spraying only in hotspot areas where an increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak./PN
