THE number of dengue cases in the country has breached the 360,000 mark, just days into the final quarter of the year, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Based on the latest Dengue Surveillance Report, the DOH said there were 360,646 cases reported from January 1 to October 12.
This is more than double the 172,416 dengue cases recorded during the same period last year.
The death toll also went up to 1,373 this year from 887 last year, for the same period.
Calabarzon was found to have the most number of cases with 60,614, followed by Western Visayas with 53,704, National Capital Region with 30,205, and Central Luzon with 29,208.
Deaths caused by dengue were highest in Western Visayas at 224, followed by Calabarzon with 177, National Capital Region with 151, and Central Visayas with 112.
Meanwhile, the regions that exceeded the epidemic threshold were Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, National Capital Region, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Northern Mindanao, on the other hand, have exceeded the alert threshold.
The most affected age group by dengue is the 5-9 years old bracket with 81,633 (23 percent).
Most of the victims, 189,468 or 53 percent, were male.
The DOH declared a national dengue epidemic on August 6, 2019 due to the rise in the number of cases.
Earlier, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said they were expecting about 240,000 cases to be recorded for 2019 given the usual spike every three years. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)