Phillipines: Dengue 2008

[Niko]

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San Lazaro data: Dengue killed 5 in first 3 weeks


Article posted January 24, 2008 - 01:16 PM
The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said five people have already succumbed to dengue in the first three weeks of the year.

This, as the number of people rushed to the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila for showing early signs of the deadly disease had already shot past 600.

Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, program manager of DOH?s Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, told dzBB that the dengue virus has already claimed the lives of five of the total 607 people who have been rushed to the San Lazaro Hospital for treatment.

Lee Suy said these patients come from Metro Manila and other parts of the country for suspected dengue infection from January 1 to 23 this year.

The identities of the five fatalities were not immediately known but the doctor said that the victims were mostly children whose ages ranged from zero to 10.

"Kung titignan po ang trending, medyo mas mataas yung bilang ngayon (If we look at the trends, it a little bit higher this year)," Lee Suy said, citing factors such as the occasional downpour in parts of the country since December of last year for the increase in dengue cases.

Lee Suy also expressed added fear that the figures might continue to rise especially since the effects of La Ni?a, according to the weather bureau, would continue to be felt for the first half of the year.

The dengue virus is transmitted by specific types of mosquitoes like the Aegis aegyptii and Aegis albopictus, which thrive in filthy breeding grounds and stagnant water.

"Ang dengue naman ever since sakit na iyan ng urban areas so kalat po iyon karamihan sa mga urban areas sa Pilipinas. Sa masisikip, matao, hindi masyadong nalilinis," Lee Suy said.

According to the National Epidemiology (NEC), the number of dengue cases rose by 24 percent from 36,701 in 2006 to 45,350 last year. In 2007, 416 people died of dengue.

While the result of the nationwide tally is still partial, the NEC said that even after it comes up with a completed list, the figures would not be much different, adding that the number of cases would most likely peak at 46,000. - Mark Merue?as, GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77820/5-succumb-to-dengue-at-San-Lazaro-hospital-in-3-weeks#

 

[Niko]

Re: Phillipines: Dengue 2008

Valenzuela troubled by steep rise in dengue cases


Article posted January 24, 2008 - 09:41 AM
A steep rise in dengue cases in Valenzuela City had been monitored during the first three weeks January ? a whopping 90 percent increase in the number of reported cases compared to the figures from the same period last year.

Radio dzBB reported Thursday that the Valenzuela City government has already recorded 25 dengue cases from January 1 to 19, most of which were recorded in Brgys. Rincon and Gen. T. de Leon.

This steep increase in dengue cases jolted the city government into intensifying its information and cleanup drive against the potentially fatal illness.

The Valenzuela City government started Wednesday an intensive campaign to residents to clean their surroundings, after health officials voiced alarm over the sudden rise in dengue cases.

Valenzuela City epidemiologist Manuel Mapue appealed to local residents to rely on themselves instead of the government to avoid acquiring the disease.

This, even as the city government ordered a door-to-door campaign encouraging residents to keep their surroundings clean and dry, to prevent dengue-carrying mosquitoes from breeding.

Since last year, health authorities had declared dengue a year-round threat, not just during the rainy season. They also warned against unnecessary fogging operations, which they said may just drive mosquitoes to other areas. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77792/Valenzuela-troubled-by-steep-rise-in-dengue-cases#

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Phillipines: Dengue 2008

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breaki.../Dengue-in-Zamboanga-alarming----health-execs
Dengue in Zamboanga ?alarming? -- health execs

By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau
First Posted 22:50:00 03/06/2008

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -- Even as the number of dengue cases here has reached 386 in less than three months since the start of the year, health officials said they are not declaring an outbreak at the moment.

"It's alarming but at this moment we cannot just declare an outbreak while we are trying to do everything to control and prevention the cases through intensified campaign," city health officer Dr. Rodelin Agbulos said.

Last year, only 90 cases were reported during the same three months.

Agbulos said the villages of Tetuan and Calarian are the most affected by dengue.

But health officials insist they were doing everything, like intensifying the cleanup drive campaign and fogging operations to "search and destroy" breeding grounds of Aegis mosquitoes.

Of the 386 cases recorded, Agbulos said, 90 percent are children.

Dr. Jason Caranay said government officials and residents should do something to prevent the fast increasing number of dengue cases in the city.

Caranay said he had attended to about five dengue patients at the Brent Hospital and two others at the Ciudad Medical.