Dengue cases in Metro rise by 100%

The number of dengue cases in Metro Manila has more than doubled compared to last year due to continuous rainfall, the Department of Health reported yesterday.  

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said they have recorded a total of 11,161 dengue cases, including 71 deaths, in various hospitals in Metro Manila from January to October this year.

Based on the Disease Surveillance Report of the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center (NEC), the recorded dengue cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) was 118.4 percent higher than the figure during the same period in 2007.

But Duque said dengue incidence nationwide was 16.2 percent lower than last year.

“A total of 32,882 dengue cases were admitted to different sentinel hospitals nationwide which is way below the 39,225 cases last year,” he noted.

Duque said dengue cases exceeded and reached epidemic threshold in the early weeks of the year.

The clustering of dengue cases that could lead to a possible outbreak were previously observed in several barangays in Sampaloc and Sta. Mesa in Manila, as well as in several areas in Caloocan and Malabon.

Metro Manila recorded the highest number of cases and accounted for 34 percent of the total cases nationwide.

Except for Malabon,San Juan and Pateros, all the cities and municipalities in Metro Manila reported deaths due to dengue. Manila, Caloocan, Quezon City and Pasig reported the biggest number of cases.    

Duque earlier blamed global warming for the increasing incidence of dengue and other diseases in the country.

Medical experts urged the public to take appropriate measures to avoid the disease because the threat of dengue outbreak remains, particularly during the rainy season.