Philippines on alert after rise in dengue cases

Manila: a senior health official on tuesday sounded the alarm over the unabated and alarming increase in the number of dengue cases that could prompt the government to declare a nationwide epidemic mainly to help stop its spread.

Health Undersecretary Enrique Domingo cited latest reports indicating that a total of 140,000 dengue cases have been reported from Jan.1 to July 31 this year, with the death toll involving mostly children reaching more than 560.

Domingo said at least seven regions — Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Bicol in Luzon as well as Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas in Central Philippines and zamboanga peninsula and northern Mindanao — have reached the epidemic threshold for the dreaded ailment.

“In addition, we are also monitoring the Ilocos Region in Northern Luzon, Central Visayas and BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) where the dengue cases hovered between the alert and epidemic levels,” according to Domingo.

In fact, due to the onslaught of the ailment, many provinces as well as towns and cities have declared a state of calamity to enable officials to use their calamity funds, representing five per cent of their annual budgets, to help the victims.

But Domingo said that if the alarming increase in dengue case would continue, they would be forced to declare a national epidemic to enable the national government and local government units to share their resources in order to contain the disease. In July, the health department declared a national dengue alert ater four of the country’s regions started showing dengue epidemic proportions mainly to appeal to the people to help stop its spread by taking preventive measures.

These included organising people into teams in “barangay” (villages) to clean up their surroundings and making sure that the mosquito breeding places are destroyed.

Domingo warned that dengue was likely to prevail until September because of the rainy season that promotes the spread of the disease which is transmitted to humans by the bite of the female of the specie of the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The mosquito usually breeds in “clean” stagnant water contained in uncovered drums, pails and even tires as well as soda bottles, experts said.

At the same time, Domingo frowned on calls from certain quarters to again use the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, made by a giant French pharmeceutical firm, for the mass immunisation of children described as most prone to the disease.