Cordi records 97% Dengue hike, 31% in leptospirosis

By Pamela Mariz Geminiano

BAGUIO CITY-- Dengue cases in the Cordillera Region recorded from January 1 to Oct. 6 this year rose to 5,921 cases, which is 97 percent higher than the 2,999 cases during the same period last year, the Dept. of Health Cordillera reported last week.

The DOH Cordillera also reported a 31 percent hike in leptospirosis cases during the period

Geeny Austria, a nurse at the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the Department of Health-Cordillera, said based on collated reports from disease reporting units in provinces comprising the region, there were 11 deaths due to dengue this year compared with nine last year .

Kalinga province recorded the most cases of dengue with 1,139; followed by Benguet with 1,025 cases; Apayao, 887; Abra, 829; Ifugao, 568; Baguio City, 418 cases; and Mountain Province with 224 cases.

She added that out of the total number of cases, 831 came from other provinces outside of the Cordillera who sought medical treatment in hospitals in the region.

Austria said that 3,161 of the recorded patients were males with ages ranging from four days to 96 years old.

On leptospirosis, there were 61 cases in 2017 which increased to 80 cases in 2018, or a 31 percent hike.

 There was one death due to leptospirosis in 2017 and five deaths in 2018.

Austria said that leptospirosis cases had an increasing trend, which was caused by the leptospira bacteria carried by rats and other four-legged animals like livestock and dogs.

The Leptospira bacteria, she explained, is most commonly spread via water contaminated with the urine of infected animals, but contaminated food or soil can also act as vehicles for transmission of the disease.

According to DRUs, Benguet had 14 leptospirosis cases; Apayao and Baguio City with 10 cases each; Kalinga has seven cases; Ifugao has four cases; and Abra and Mountain Province with 2 cases each.

Austria said leptospirosis is a preventable disease.

She urged the public, especially parents to prevent their children from swimming or wading in potentially contaminated water. -- PNA