THE Provincial Health Office (PHO) recorded nine dengue deaths in Negros Occidental from January to May, raising concerns amid the drop in cases in the province.
PHO chief Ernell Tumimbang said he is worried about the high mortality rate since the number of cases all over the province has decreased to only more than 800 compared to about a thousand cases during the same period last year.
He added that he is planning to create a Dengue Mortality Team to closely study why such deaths happened.
The mortality rate is more than one percent which is not good, he said.
Tumimbang also said that in the succeeding months, with the onset of the rainy season, and the succeeding years, mortality rate would continue to soar.
He noted that the high mortality rate could be attributed to the delay of referral from the place of the patient leading to low chances of survival when brought to the hospital.
A second dengue attack is also deadlier, he added, stressing there is already a need to revisit the dengue protocol.
"We have to review and assess all this so that we will know where we are lacking and correct it to prevent more deaths," Tumimbang added.