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MANILA, Philippines – Dengue cases have dropped by at least 76 percent this year due to “increased awareness” among Filipinos of the need to keep their communities clean, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
As of August 15, a total of 59,675 dengue cases had been reported nationwide, down from the more than 270,000 cases reported in the same period last year. Deaths due to mosquito-borne disease also fell to 231 from more than 1,100 recorded in August last year.
Dr. Norielyn Evangelista, director of DOH’s National Aedes-Borne Viral Disease Prevention and Control Program, said the decline can be attributed to massive information and education campaigns, improved vector surveillance and control, or control disease-carrying insects and other animals. , after the dengue outbreak last year.
“This can be attributed to the increased awareness of the Filipinos. We have realized that health is wealth. Our 4S strategy, to find and destroy hatcheries and clean up our environment, these [contributed] to the decrease in the number of dengue cases, ”Evangelista said.
Despite the rainy season
To date, no province or region has reached its alert or epidemic threshold even though the country is officially in the rainy season when cases tend to increase.
In November last year, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III already anticipated that dengue cases this year would be less due to the natural three-year cycle of the disease when cases decline.
Based on available data, the DOH saw 213,930 cases in 2015 and 220,518 cases in 2016. Total dengue cases dropped to 152,224 in 2017, which rose to 216,190 in 2018 and peaked at 430,282 last year.
Like last year, Evangelista said that the dominant circulating strain is serotype 3. This strain causes fever, muscle aches, headache, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. It is one of the mildest strains since those affected are not hospitalized for a long time.
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