Dengue kills more than 1,000 in Philippines

The dengue situation has emerged as a serious problem as the number of dengue patients has risen to around 250,000 nationwide with more than 1,000 dead in Philippines.

Health Undersecretary Rolando Enrique Domingo on Tuesday urged the local officials to be more careful in prevention of the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease, especially after the total cases breached 240,000, the highest of the year-end estimates of the Department of Health (DOH).

Domingo said: "What we need is to go down to the barangay level. It also needs to be done daily. We understand that sometimes it may be tiring but the threat of dengue is continuous. We ask for a little more effort because as we can see there are still a lot of cases," reports Inquirer.

The DOH recommends insecticide fogging in the possible areas where a rise in the number of cases has been recorded for two consecutive weeks.

Cleanliness still key:

Domingo suggested one of the most effective ways to control the spread of the disease is by ensuring cleanliness in communities so that the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus, would not be able to breed.

The DOH's Epidemiology Bureau (DOH-EB) reported that as of August 24 there were already 249,332 dengue cases across the country, or a 109-percent increase from last year. It said 1,021 people had died.

From August 18 to 24 the DOH saw 13,192 new cases which is 60 percent higher than in same period last year.

DOH data shows that dengue cases in the last 8-month this year is the highest recorded since 2012. In the last 7 years, full-year cases ranged from a little more than 113,000 to more than 220,000.

Peaks during 'ber' months:

Domingo suggested that health authorities need more cooperation from local officials. As the epidemic is not under control yet more cases are expected.

"Active community is needed to control the spread of the disease," he said.

Among all regions, Western Visayas still has the most number of dengue cases with 42,694 and 186 deaths. 

Other regions which reported a high prevalence of dengue were: Calabarzon (35,136 cases, 112 deaths), Northern Mindanao (18,799 cases, 69 deaths), Zamboanga Peninsula (17,529 cases, 93 deaths) and Eastern Visayas (17,107 cases, 52 deaths).

Child fatalities:

According to Domingo, parents should suspect dengue if their child has fever with headache, pain behind the eyes or muscle and joint pain for at least two days.

Children aged between 5 to 9 have accounted for nearly a quarter of all reported cases and 39 percent of all recorded deaths.

According to DOH data, the dengue affected children are aged-4 and under (16 percent of all cases), those aged 10 to 14 (20 percent) and teens 15 to 19 (15 percent).

The Philippines has the highest dengue case rate of 0.4 percent in Southeast Asia.

He said that there was not any shortage of supplies, including blood and intravenous fluid due to the epidemic according to the reports of the health department.

To avoid overcrowding, only patients with severe dengue should be hospitalized, Domingo said. Patients should be assessed at designated hydration areas in clinics and hospitals to determine whether they should be confined.