Dengue alert still up over Apayao province

BAGUIO CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) Cordillera regional office has lifted dengue outbreak alert declaration in Mountain Province and Abra but not in the province of Apayao.

Ursula Segundo, entomologist of the DOH-Cordillera said the lifting came a month after the declaration as an offshoot of immediate action of the local governments of Abra and Mountain Province.

“It is only Apayao which is continuously being monitored by health authorities,” she said.

It was last month when the country’s health agency declared an outbreak in the three provinces – after Mt. Province recorded a 708 percent increase in dengue cases. Apayao had a 427 percent increase and 31 percent in Abra.

“Dengue is not only a rainy season illness but year round. But it is during the rainy months when residents become complacent, setting aside cleanliness in the surroundings that is why there are areas where a big increase was recorded.” Segundo said.

“Last year, we did not have this kind of a leap in the incidence of cases and there was no place declared to have a dengue outbreak,” Segundo added.

DOH – Cordillera records showed three dengue-related deaths in the region.

An 85-year-old woman from Luna, Apayao died in January of dengue shock syndrome, while a 7-year-old from Rosario, La Union also died last May in a hospital in this city. The third fatality was an 89-year-old from Cervantes, Ilocos Sur who perished last July.

Record further showed that all provinces in the region recorded an increase in dengue cases. From January to September this year, dengue cases had reached 4,525, compared to only 1,641 cases recorded over the same period last year.