The Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DOH-CAR) reported a slight increase in dengue fever cases in the region which was pegged at around 8 percent for the first eleven months of this year after recording some 9,090 cases compared to the registered 8,346 cases during the same period last year.
However, what alarmed health officials in the region was the dramatic increase in the number of dengue fever-related deaths with 24 deaths recorded during the first eleven months of this year compared to only 12 deaths reported during the same period last year.
Based on the data obtained from the DOH-CAR’s regional epidemiology and surveillance unit (RESU), clustering of dengue fever cases was noted in the different parts of the region that prompted the different disease reporting units to mobilize the necessary health teams to implement strategies to prevent the further increase in the number of people affected by the dreaded illness.
Further, health experts reported that some municipalities in the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province were noted to have exceeded the epidemic or alert threshold triggering the conduct of massive information and education campaign for people to be aware of the preventive measures to help in mitigating the increase in the number of people affected by the illness.
Previously, dengue fever usually follows a cyclic trend but to date, dengue has become a year-round illness that poses a serious threat to the lives of people who are not immediately provided with immediate medical attention.
Dengue fever is caused by any of the 4 zero types of the dengue virus of which all strains are present in the Cordillera.
Experts disclosed that an infected day biting female aedes mosquito transmits the viral disease to humans and that such type of mosquito thrives in clear and stagnant water.
According to health officials, dengue fever cases are reported throughout the year but usually the number significantly increases during the rainy season that could reach widespread proportions if preventive measures of control are not immediately undertaken.
Among the dengue prevention and control measures include the search and destruction of the breeding ground of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes, embracing self-protection measures to prevent persons from being bitten by the dengue-carrying mosquitoes, seeking early consultations when suffering from two days of continuous fever and saying no to indiscriminate fogging in the neighborhood.
However, health officials claim dengue fever is curable, provided that, individuals infected with the dreaded illness will be given appropriate medical attention the earliest possible time considering that one of the serious negative effects of the illness is the significant decline in the blood platelets of dengue victims.
Aside from prolonged high fever, individuals suffering from dengue fever often have dark spots on their skin, an indication that the illness is in an advance stage that warrants immediate medical attention to prevent the untimely demise of patients.
Dengue is one of the dreaded illness under surveillance by health authorities in the different parts of the region as it is deadly once patients will not be provided with immediate medical attention or brought to the nearest medical health facility for the provision of appropriate health care.
By Dexter A. See
