(Eagle News) – For the first time, the Philippine government declared a “national dengue alert” after the health department noted an increase by 85 percent of cases so far this year compared to same period last year.
Dengue cases from January 1 to June 29 this year spiked to 106,630 from last year’s 57,564 cases for the same period.
“This is the first time that we’re declaring a national alert. Because the objective is very clear. We want to raise awareness among the public and more importantly, in communities where signs of early dengue increases are evident,” said Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
-No national epidemic as “localized” dengue cases noted-
A nationwide dengue alert does not mean that it is already a national epidemic since dengue cases monitored in the country so far were only “localized” and “regional”
“We don’t have a national epidemic. It’s localized. As I have mentioned, the top among the regions would be Western Visayas, followed by Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen and Northern Mindanao. There is no national epidemic but there is certainly regional” Duque explained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=188qjIsuEp4
Aside from these regions, the DOH is also monitoring the following regions which exceeded the alert threshold: Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao , Bicol region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Cordillera Administrative Region, Davao region, Eastern Visayas, Ilocos region, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
Duque said that 456 have already died due to dengue so far this year. Most of them are children aged five to nine years old.
The DOH has already activated the Code Blue alert regarding the dengue cases in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (NDRRMO)
