Dengue cases rise by 79 percent in Cordi

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Health authorities here warned the public on outbreak of dengue fever after the said illness increased by 79 percent first five months of this year compared to the same period last year.

The outbreak was expected because of the expected occurrence of stronger rains and typhoons triggered by climate change, health officials said.

From the 213 dengue fever cases recorded by the Cordillera office of the Center for health Development in January to May last year, the cases suddenly rose to 382 for the same period this year which represents a 79 percent increase thereby causing an alarm among health officials.

Ifugao registered the highest increase in the number of dengue fever cases from 14 last year to 107 this year or a 620 percent increase. Apayao came in second with a 570 percent increase considering that it recorded 75 cases this year compared to non last year.

Mountain Province posted a 116 percent in dengue fever cases with 54 cases this year compared to 25 cases last year; Benguet had 64 dengue fever cases this year compared to the 32 cases last year or a 100 percent increase; non-Cordillera dengue cases also increased by 87 percent from 8 cases last year to 15 cases this year and Abra registered the least increase at 33 percent from 15 cases last year to 20 cases this year.

However, dengue cases in Kalinga dropped by 52 percent from 50 cases last year to 24 cases this year while Baguio City also recorded a 40 percent reduction in dengue fever cases from 60 cases last year to 41 cases this year.

According to Cabotaje, there were two deaths which was caused by dengue this year while there were none last year, thus, the need to intensify the dengue awareness programs in their rural health units so that people will learn to prevent the proliferation of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in their surroundings.

Because of the expected increase in dengue fever cases with the arrival of the rainy season, the health department advised local residents to immediately destroy the breeding grounds of dengue-carrying mosquitoes, particularly the stagnant water stocked in containers within their surroundings as well as observe cleanliness and seek medical attention when suffering from several days of fever.

Moreover, Cabotaje claimed defogging activities must not be allowed by the different local heath units since the chemicals used for the purpose might affect the health condition of the people living in the communities which will be subjected to defogging.

Baguio City is one of the pilot areas in the world where the World Health Organization (WHO) is conducting anti-dengue tests in order to formulate appropriate measures on how to effectively and efficiently get rid of the dreaded mosquitoes.

Cabotaje explained dengue is no longer a rainy day disease since dengue-carrying mosquitoes also proliferate during the onslaught of the prolonged drought whereby they breed on the water storage containers of the residents who store water for household use considering that the city usually encounters water scarcity during summer.