Dengue death toll: 37 most of them children

LEGAZPI CITY --- The death toll on dengue in Bicol rose to 37 with the mosquito borne disease reaching alarming level at 3,631 cases as of latest count, the Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol said on Monday. The DOH Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) recorded a 27 percent surge within a two-week period (July 18 to 29) from previous 2,660 to present 3,631 cases.

Dr. Ernie Vera said they expect more cases to be reported with the onset of the rainy season this month until the end of the year.

The continued rise in the dengue cases reached an alarming level where 37 of those who died were mostly children, Vera said.

He said 65 percent of those who died were female, aged 4 months to 10 years old.

Camarines Sur had the highest number of cases with 1,433, followed by Albay with 679, Sorsogon-653, Catanduanes-485, Masbate-242, Camarines Norte-135 and Others (visitors) with 4 cases.

Vera said that while they have reached an alarming level, the threshold level has not yet been breached to declare a dengue outbreak.

He explained that to declare an outbreak there should be a cluster of villages with high incidence of dengue. “So far what we have are only sporadic cases,” he said.

Vera said he would ask the local health board of various local government units to implement an Institutional Preventive and Control measure against dengue by requiring the community to carry out a “synchronized” cleanliness sanitation measure to stop the spread of dengue in the villages.

The measure would also impose sanctions and penalties to those that do not heed the order, Vera said “While doing the 4S routine measures we have to move forward in a synchronized manner in fighting dengue,” he said.

4S stands for Search and Destroy” mosquito breeding places, “Self-protection measures”, “Seek early consultation” for fever as early as one day, and “Say yes to fogging” as a last resort when there is an impending outbreak.