DENGUE cases in Negros Occidental, excluding Bacolod City, continue to rise as of July 16, 2022 and is now nearly 1,000 percent higher than the same period last year with 10 fatalities, records from the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas showed.
The regional line agency also noted that Negros Occidental registered 230 new cases, the highest in the entire Western Visayas Region.
The number of residents in the province who got sick from the mosquito-borne disease is already 910 percent higher during the first seven months of this year compared to the same period in 2021.
Earlier, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ernell Tumimbang claimed that dengue cases in Negros Occidental is in a “downward” trend.
On Friday, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson met with local health officers of different towns and cities in the province and reiterated his call for the establishment of ant-dengue task force.
Lacson was also updated on various campaigns being spearheaded by the local government units (LGUs) to arrest the increase of dengue cases.
Dengue cases in Bacolod City, meanwhile, have also increased by 216.9 percent from January to July 16 this year compared to the same period last year, the City Health Office (CHO) reported.
The province’s capital city had a total of 393 dengue cases with seven fatalities, which the local health office said is higher than the 124 cases with two deaths for the same period last year.
Of 393 dengue cases, Barangay Mansilingan has the highest number of cases with 37.
It is followed by Barangay Estefania with 33; Barangay Tangub - 32; Barangay Taculing - 29; Barangays Singcang-Airport - 26; Barangay Sum-ag - 25; Barangays Alijis and Villamonte - 24 each; Barangays Mandalagan and Handumanan - 19 each; Barangays Granada and Cabug - 17 each; and Barangay Felisa with 10 cases.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of CHO Environment Sanitation Division, reiterated that the public should practice the 4S program of the DOH.
The 4S means “Search and destroy” mosquito-breeding sites, practice “Self-protection measures” such as wearing of long pants and long sleeved shirts, and daily use of mosquito repellent), “Seek early consultation,” and “Support fogging/spraying” only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak.
For the entire Western Visayas, dengue cases rose to 6,856 cases for the period covering January 1 to July 6, 2022 with 674 new ones recorded as of yesterday.*