Thursday, July 31, 2008 76 dengue deaths in region since January, 33 of them in Cebu City
WITH the rainy season barely starting, dengue fever already claimed more lives in Central Visayas than in the same period last year.
The increase in deaths comes even as the number of cases dropped.
As of July 26, the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (Resu) 7 reported a total of 76 deaths in Central Visayas.
The number of people who died is 29 more than what was recorded in the same period last year.
In the different sentinel hospitals in Region 7, a total of 2,605 persons were admitted for dengue fever. The reported number of cases this year is 1.6 percent lower compared to the 2,649 cases last year.
Despite the decrease of dengue fever cases, mortality rates went up.
Cebu City topped the list of cities and municipalities with the highest number of dengue fever cases and deaths in the region.
Resu 7 reported that the city already had 33 deaths and 549 dengue fever cases. The figure is a sharp increase from the five deaths in Cebu City reported in the same period last year by Resu 7.
Bais City was at the bottom of the 10 list of areas with dengue cases with only 54 cases and no reported deaths.
Lapu-Lapu City, which was not on the list last year, now trails behind Cebu City with 180 reported dengue cases and seven deaths. It is closely followed by Mandaue City with 148 dengue cases and eight reported deaths.
Resu 7 said that the youngest dengue case reported in Central Visayas was that of a one-month-old baby, while the eldest being that of a 79-year-old person.
Thirty-three percent of the reported dengue cases were of children aged six to 10.
In order to fight the rising dengue cases, Suzette Limbaga, Department of Health 7 information officer, said the health department already started a school caravan in order to raise the awareness among students for the prevention of dengue.
With the increasing number of dengue cases in Cebu City, Limbaga also commended the efforts the Cebu City government has taken to fight the disease. (EPB)
