Dengue kills 7 in ARMM

COTABATO City, Philippines - Seven people have died due to dengue in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) from January 1 to July 10 this year, the regional health department said Thursday.

ARMM regional Health Secretary Kadil Sinolinding Jr. said they have been continuously educating residents in far-flung areas on how to curb the spread of dengue and how to prevent getting afflicted with mosquito-borne diseases.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in Lanao del Sur, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.

Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which have vast lakes and marshes, accounts for the most number of Dengue cases in the autonomous region.

Sinolinding, meanwhile, said the region still has no recorded Chikungunya case.

The Chikungunya viral infection is similar to dengue, and is also spread by mosquitoes.

Patients infected with Chikungunya virus suffer from joint pains, body malaise, and recurring high fever.

“We ought to thank the local government units in the autonomous region for supporting our anti-Dengue and anti-Chikungunya operations,” Sinolinding said.

Tupi town in South Cotabato, a component province of Administrative Region 12, was declared last week under a state of calamity due to a Chikungunya outbreak.

Close to a hundred students of a national high school in the municipality of M'lang in North Cotabato, also in Region 12, have also been reported to have contracted Chikungunya disease.

Sinolinding said provincial health offices in the autonomous region have been monitoring the health condition of local communities since late June following reports of Chikungunya outbreak in provinces outside of ARMM.