.ILOILO CITY, Iloilo - There has been a 279% increase of dengue cases in the province of Iloilo.
The Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (PESU) of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (PHO) has recorded 629 cases with 12 deaths from January 1 to June 16, 2012.
Some 144 new cases were recorded with Pavia town registering the most number of cases at 73 and three deaths, followed by Dumangas town with 68 cases and two deaths.
Dr. Grace Trabado, provincial health officer, said that while there was a 279% increase for the first six months as compared to the same period of 2011, the number of cases is not considered to be an epidemic.
"It is still manageable," Trabado said.
However, she expressed disappointment in the low compliance by local residents with high incidence of dengue cases in joining the anti-dengue campaign.
She said that local government executives have done their work, but it must be the locals who have to make sure that their surroundings are clean.
Trabado also said the PHO has also been distributing larvicidal chemicals, which are used in getting rid of stagnant water and avert the creation of breeding grounds for mosquitoes that are dengue carriers.
PHO is coordinating with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-6) in the distribution of mosquito ovicidal/larvicidal traps, which are designed to attract female mosquitoes, eventually killing their eggs and thus, curbing the number of dengue cases.
In 2010, Iloilo was under a state of calamity with 6,500 dengue cases and 32 deaths.
Meanwhile, the number of dengue cases is likewise growing in the Central Visayas region, with the Department of Health (DoH)'s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) recording close to 3,000 cases and over 20 deaths from January 1 to June 9 this year.
RESU 7 figures show that a total of 2,985 cases with 21 deaths were recorded for said period which is 36.9 percent higher compared to last year's 2,179 cases and 14 deaths.
Of total cases, Cebu City tops the list with 47 percent equivalent to 1,388 cases and nine deaths. In 2011, Cebu City registered only 747 cases and seven deaths.
Dumaguete City comes second with 6.1 percent or 183 cases, followed by Lapu-Lapu City with 149 cases and three deaths, and Minglanilla with 143 cases with one fatality.
Other dengue casualties were also recorded in the towns of Liloan, Sibulan, Bacong, Antiquerra, Calape and Tagbilaran City.
Data from RESU 7 also reveal that most of those affected are under 6-10 years age group representing 27.6 percent of the total number of victims. (With a story by Phoebe Indino)
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