Dengue cases up by 28 percent in Albay

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LEGAZPI CITY: Health authorities in Albay are on heightened alert following the surge in dengue cases by 28 percent during the past three quarters of the year, the Albay Provincial Health Office said.

PHO surveillance team reported that 550 people  fell ill of  the deadly mosquito bite from January to September this year,  156, or 28% higher than the 394 cases reported during the same period last year, Dr Luis Mendoza provincial health officer said.

Provincial epidemiology data showed that among the 15 towns and three cities in Albay, Daraga town topped the list with 150 cases, followed by Legazpi City with 94, Camalig 68, Guinobatan 65, Ligao City 50, Tabaco City 37, Polangui 23, and Oas 22 cases while other towns have cases ranging from 9 to only one.

Mendoza blamed the long and intermittent rainy days that have been hounding the province since January this year. 

He said these dengue-infested mosquitos thrive and breed in stagnant water-filled containers, and  flower pots.

Last year, eight people died due to dengue in the towns of Daraga, Camalig, Sto Domingo, and the cities of Ligao, Tabaco, and Legazpi.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol reported that  dengue cases in the region rose by 100% from the first half of this year as compared to the same period last year from 406 cases to 812 this year.

Camarines Sur topped the list of  provinces in Bicol  that recorded a high rate  of dengue cases with 692 cases, followed by  Albay with 71 cases,  Sorsogon 16, Masbate and Camarines Norte with 12 each, and Catanduanes with only 10.

Earlier, Naga City health authorities placed the city under a state of calamity due to a dengue outbreak with 325 cases reported last June.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease.  Symptoms appear three to four days after the infective bite.

Dengue fever is a febrile illness that affects infants, young children, and adults.

Symptoms range from a mild fever to incapacitating high fever, with severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, and rashes. – Bicol Mail