Region 9 records 2,577 dengue cases with 20 deaths

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Department of Health-Region 9 (DOH-9) has recorded high cases of dengue with 20 deaths in the Zamboanga peninsula and in Basilan since January this year.

Neo Walter Ted Folgo, Aedes vector-borne diseases regional program coordinator, told the Philippine News Agency Friday that they recorded 2,577 cases of dengue since January, double than last year’s 1,113 registered cases.

Folgo said that in this city alone, DOH-9 recorded 986 dengue cases--the highest in the region. Zamboanga City is followed by Zamboanga del Norte, 663 cases; Zamboanga del Sur, 425; Zamboanga Sibugay, 382; and, Isabela City, Basilan, 121.

Of the 20 deaths, Folgo said that the province of Zamboanga del Sur has the highest mortality at 10; Zamboanga del Norte, six; Zamboanga Sibugay, two; and Isabela City, two.

Folgo said that 11 of the 20 deaths recorded in this region this year were males and the remaining nine were females. Last year, there were recorded 55 deaths.

He said one of the contributory factors to the high cases of dengue is the El Niño weather phenomenon.

There are two possible causes of death of dengue patients, the DOH-9 official said. First, the patient did not seek early consultation and second, they have other health problem aside from dengue.

Dengue fever is a viral disease usually affecting infant and young children. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which lay eggs on clear and stagnant water, are the spreader of the disease.

The signs and symptoms of dengue fever include sudden high fever,  joints and muscle pains, skin rashes, nose bleeding, vomiting of coffee colored mattered, and dark colored stool.

Folgo said the management of dengue is symptomatic as “there is no medicine for dengue fever alone.”

He said the public should practice the “4S” strategy to minimize, if not eradicate, cases of dengue: search and destroy; self-protection measures; seek early consultation, and support fogging in times of increasing cases of dengue. (PNA)