Former Philippine Medical Association president Benito Atienza on Monday warned the public against the alarming increase of dengue cases in the Philippines.
“Yes, dapat tayo ma-alarma (we should be alarmed),” Atienza said at the Laging Handa briefing. Atienza made the statement when asked about the 45,416 dengue cases recorded from January 1 to June 11 this year, 45 percent higher than cases recorded during the same period last year.
More people have died of dengue than COVID-19 in Singapore, Atienza said. “That’s why we should be careful right now. We should be alarmed because even senior citizens, nurses, and anyone can get dengue,” Atienza said.
“We should remember that dengue chooses no one, even those as young as six months,” he added.
On the other hand, Atienza likewise cautioned the public against water-borne diseases, influenza, and leptospirosis.
The Department of Health (DOH) advised the public to follow the 4S strategy which is to search and destroy breeding places, secure self-protection, seek early consultation, and support fogging or spraying in hotspot areas.
In a statement, the DOH reported the following data:
There were 51,622 dengue cases reported from January 1 to June 18, 2022. Cumulatively, cases this year is 58% higher compared to the reported cases during the same period in 2021 (32,610).
Cumulatively, most dengue cases were reported from: Region III: 6,641 (13%) Region VII: 6,361 (12%) Region IX: 4,767 (9%)
In the recent period (May 8 to June 18, 2022) where 13,075 cases were recorded, the region with the highest number of cases: Region III: 1,826 (14%) Region VII: 1,570 (12%) CAR: 1,175 (9%) Regions MIMAROPA, VI, VII, IX, XI, BARMM and CAR show an increasing trend in the recent period (May 8 to June 18, 2022). Fifteen out of 17 Regions (Regions II, III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, BARMM, CAR, NCR) exceeded the alert/epidemic threshold for the past four weeks (May 8 to June 18, 2022).
Nationally, there were 239 deaths reported (Case Fatality Rate=0.5%).
These deaths were reported in: January: 40, February: 37, March: 34, April: 47, May: 62, June: 19
For preventive and control actions, the public is reminded to continuously observe and practice the following 4S strategies:
• Search and destroy breeding places
• Secure self-protection
• Seek early consultation, and
• Support fogging/spraying in hotspot areas
