State of calamity declared in Ilocos provinces: Dengue deaths rising in northern Luzon

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- Dengue cases in northern Luzon drastically rose last week with La Union declared under a state of calamity Thursday even as Cagayan Valley cases increased by over a hundred percent compared to cases recorded last year.

In the Cordillera the regional Health office reported dengue afflictions have gone down with 1, 395 cases in the region except Abra but deaths have risen to eight as compared to records last year.

The provincial board of La Union placed the province under a state of calamity after the body, headed by Vice Gov. Aureo Nisce, was informed by Dr. Hector Beñas, provincial health officer, that dengue cases in the province, as of last Monday, had reached 2,030 with seven deaths, including a 21-year-old female nursing student and a young doctor.

Records show this city had the most number of cases, followed by the towns of Bauang, Balaoan and San Juan.

Dengue was also taking its toll on children who crowded the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, which has already recorded 653 cases with six deaths this year.

Seventy-five percent of the admissions at the hospital’s pediatric ward in the past three months were dengue cases, said Dr. Roland Mejia, the hospital director.
In Pangasinan, the number of dengue cases has increased by 300 percent this year.

Provincial health officer Ana de Guzman said the number of dengue cases from January to August 4 broke the 1,000 mark as compared to 323 for the same period in 2010.

She said the increase in dengue cases may still rise because of the rainy season.

The DOH has also declared Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte provinces in state of calamity due to growing number of dengue cases.

De Guzman also called for preventive measures against dengue using the DOH’s 4s campaign – search and destroy, self-protection, seek consultation, and say no to indiscriminate fogging.

In Bulacan, authorities have stepped up their dengue watch as cases swelled to 2,086 from January to August, or a four-fold increase from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, data at the Department of Health regional office in Tuguegarao City showed the number of dengue fatalities was also three times higher compared to last year – from seven to 21 to date – including the recent reported deaths of three minors in Echague town in Isabela.

The DOH regional epidemiology unit has recorded 2,679 dengue cases in the region since January to date, a 164 percent increase compared to the 1,015 cases reported during the same period last year.

Marianne Lyn de Laza, head of the said unit, said most of the deaths were due to “late consultation,” or the victims seek medical treatment when they were already in a serious condition.

DOH records showed most number of dengue cases were reported in Isabela with 848 cases; followed by Batanes with 680; Nueva Vizcaya, 552; Cagayan 442 and Quirino, 232.

Only recently, Batanes was declared a state of calamity due to dengue.

A nine-year-old girl from Basco town was the first dengue fatality in the tiny island province. – With reports from Charlie Lagasca, Freddie Lazaro, JennelynMondejar and GRD