Dengue cases in PHL rising; protect yourself

THE Philippines implemented a nationwide mass immunization program against dengue fever in 2016, becoming the first country in Asia to authorize the commercial use of Dengvaxia, the dengue vaccine manufactured by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur. In December 2017, nearly two years since the mass vaccination started, Sanofi announced that Dengvaxia may actually cause “more severe disease” in those who have not had previous dengue infection. By then, over 800,000 schoolchildren had been inoculated.

The deaths of several children that received the vaccine became a focal point of a criminal investigation against involved health officials. The Public Attorney’s Office ran a highly publicized investigation, from televised autopsies to the PAO chief appearing alongside the grieving mothers in press conferences.

The resulting “crisis of confidence” against the Department of Health sent nationwide immunization rates plummeting to all-time low, and created vaccine hesitancy among parents. The growing distrust of vaccines precipitated a measles outbreak in May 2019—described as “one of the world’s measles outbreak”—that saw more than 33,000 cases and 466 deaths from the vaccine-preventable disease.

In August 2019, a national dengue fever epidemic broke out in the country, which saw more than 146,000 cases and more than 600 deaths from the vaccine-preventable disease.

Dengue fever is endemic to Southeast Asia, and the risk of transmission is highest during and immediately following the rainy season. A recent review of the epidemiology of dengue in the Philippines showed that the incidence rate of dengue was highest among children who are five to 14 years of age, with over 80 percent of dengue-related deaths occurring among those younger than 20 years old.

The dengue virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, found indoors, and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that prefer to stay in shrubs and trees. The virus enters the mosquito’s salivary gland, where it incubates for eight to 10 days. Then, the mosquito can pass the virus on to the person it bites.

From the Philippine News Agency, June 7, 2022: “The Department of Health in Central Visayas on Tuesday said the rise in dengue cases in the region is now a “cause of concern” amid the rainy season. Dr. Ronald Jarvik Buscato, DOH-7 dengue prevention and control program head, reported that the Central Visayas region has recorded a total of 4,623 dengue cases with 38 deaths from January 1 to May 28, 2022.”

PNA report, June 10, 2022: “Zamboanga Peninsula has tallied 3,743 dengue cases since January this year, the Department of Health-region 9 reported Friday. Dr. Joshua Brillantes, DOH-9 director, said this city has the highest number of dengue cases in the region with 2,209. Trailing the city is Zamboanga del Sur province with 605 cases.”

PNA report, June 11, 2022: “The Department of Health in Region 5 on Saturday reported an increase in cases of dengue fever and new cases of Japanese encephalitis, both mosquito-borne diseases. In a report that was based on its dengue surveillance, DOH-5 noted that 77 dengue cases were recorded from May 22 to June 4, compared to 23 in the same period last year. This represents a 235 percent increase, the report said.”

PNA report, June 15, 2022: “Dengue fever cases in Eastern Visayas continue to rise this week with seven deaths and 1,856 patients downed by mosquito bites from January 1 to June 11 this year, the Department of Health reported on Wednesday. DOH regional information officer Jelyn Lopez-malibago said 102 more cases were recorded from June 5 to 11, lower than the 217 new cases recorded from the last week of May to early June. The number of cases this year is 545 percent higher compared to the same period in 2021 when we only had more than 200 cases, Malibago said.”

The peak of the dengue epidemic period is around June to August, during the rainy season. Experts say dengue mosquitoes tend to be most active during the daytime. Protect yourself from dengue fever. Destroy mosquito habitats. Learn how you can control mosquitoes inside and outside your home.