By John Noel E. Herrera
Dengue cases in Western Visayas have continued to increase and are nearing a record high of 9,000, according to the Department of Health (DOH) regional office.
Data from DOH-6 indicated that from July 24 to 30, 2022, Western Visayas logged 597 dengue cases, bringing the total to 8,647 cases so far.
Negros Occidental logged 193 new cases; Iloilo province, 162; Antique, 80; Capiz, 29; Aklan, 16; Guimaras, 14; Iloilo City, 68, and Bacolod City, 35.
Compared to the same period in 2021, DOH-6 said that the cases in the region rose by 543 percent this year.
Western Visayas only recorded 1,345 dengue cases from Jan to Aug 2021.
Negros Occidental still has the highest number of cases with 3,003, followed by Antique with 2,025, and Iloilo province with 1,637 cases.
Data also indicated that Iloilo City logged 502 cases; Bacolod City, 496; Capiz, 438; Aklan, 399, and Guimaras, 147.
Four new casualties were also recorded by the health department, bringing the death toll in the region to 50.
Capiz reported its first dengue-related death along with three fatalities that came from Aklan, Iloilo Province, and Bacolod City.
In a press conference on Thursday, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. urged everyone to continue doing all the preventive measures to lessen the dengue cases in the province.
Meanwhile, the province of Aklan is still under a state of calamity as dengue cases continue to surge in all of the 18 towns of the province.
Dengue cases in Iloilo City up by 150%
Dengue cases in Iloilo City continue to rise amid the campaign of the Iloilo City government to destroy the breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
From Jan 1 to Aug 6, 2022, dengue cases in the metro totaled to 631 with one fatality. This is 150.4 percent higher than the cases recorded in the same period last year.
The most affected age group are still those from aged 1 to 10 years old with 348 cases; followed by 11 to 20 years old with 135 cases; aged 21 to 30 years old (79 cases); below one year old (27); 31 to 40 years old (18); 41 to 50 years old (13); and 51 years old and above (11).
Iloilo City also recorded clustering of cases in 52 barangays. The barangays with highest number of new dengue cases include Baldoza, La Paz (7); Sta. Cruz, Arevalo (6); Bonifacio, Arevalo (5); and Hibao-an Sur, Dulonan, Mohon, Tanza Esperanza, Buntatala, Calaparan, and Magsaysay Villa with four cases each.
Due to the steady rise of dengue cases in the metro, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas appealed to the public to clean their surroundings particularly the possible breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
He also advised the public to immediately seek early consultation especially the parents whenever children are experiencing fever.
“Sa pagdamo sang kaso sang dengue sa aton naga-apelar gid ako sa tanan nga magbinuligay kita sa pagtapna sa pagdamo sang lamok sa aton nga barangay kag panimalay. Maglimpyo kita sa aton palibot. Pangitaon kag gub-on ang mga lugar nga pwede istaran sang lamok. Amligan ang aton kabataan nga indi makagat sang lamok kag gilayon magkonsulta kon may hilanat. Buylugan ta ang fogging kag spaying sa mga lugar nga mataas ang kaso sang dengue,” he said.
The mayor has previously said that the city is close to declaring a state of calamity due to rise in dengue cases.
The last time Iloilo City declared a state of calamity due to dengue was in 2019 after it recorded over 3,000 cases. (DG)
