CEBU CITY – Dengue cases in Central Visayas (Region 7) are on a steady rise.
From Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 this year, the Department of Health in Central Visayas noted 2,132 cases.
The DoH Region 7 said 14 persons died because of dengue in January while four have died so far this month.
“The number of dengue cases for the first two months and first week of February are very, very high because that’s 154 percent higher than the previous year. Comparing the same periods this year and last year, dengue cases have more than doubled and we are expecting more,” said Dr. Jarvick Buscato, dengue program coordinator of the DoH Region 7.
Buscato said 2019 is considered an epidemic year since dengue cases in the country rise every three years.
“We call it epidemic year but this is just arbitrary because this is not happening in other countries. This three-year pattern has been seen in the Philippines since 2009,” Buscato added.
The DoH is still studying what causes dengue cases to rise every three years.
“We are still trying to figure out why this pattern is happening. It could be attributed to the behavior of the mosquitoes or the virulence of the virus. There could be other factors. We have seen the signs, we have seen the change of the pattern in the behavior of the vector but we have not proven it scientifically,” Buscato added.
Buscato said dengue cases are particularly high in the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
From Jan. 1 to Feb. 2 last year in Lapu-Lapu, there were only 74 cases but in the same period this year, 264 cases have been recorded.
A 100 percent increase was also noted in Mandaue as it already has 119 cases this year compared to the 59 in the same period last year. (Calvin Cordova)