Friday, July 11, 2008 4 die of dengue in 1st 7 months of 2008 By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
THE dreaded dengue disease has claimed the lives of four residents, two in Talisay and one each from Pontevedra and San Carlos, as per the January to July 2008 report released by the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
For the whole of last year, the PHO recorded five fatalities.
PHO and Negros Occidental Board Member Melvin Ibañez consider the month of July as critical because it is the start of the wet season where Aedes aegypti or the yellow fever mosquito that can spread the dengue fever larvae is present.
Records for the first seven months of this year showed that the farthest south Negros areas have the most number of dengue cases.
Hinoba-an, where dengue fatalities were reported last year with 88 cases, now has two cases only, same with Sipalay with 48 cases last year.
Bago remained to have the most number of dengue cases, from 62 last year to 109 this year; Silay with 14 last year and 65 for the first seven months this year; Talisay (with two deaths) ranked third with 13 last year and 59 this year; and La Carlota, which has two last year, has 27 this year.
Sagay has the same number of cases at 27; Pontevedra (with one fatality) has seven last year and 22 this year; and Manapla with 11 last year and 21 now.
Victorias is in the eighth spot with 83 last year to just 21 this year; Cadiz with 20 last year to 17; and San Carlos (with one death) with 17 last year to 16 this year.
