• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Dengue cases in Western Visayas already reached 4,030, from Jan. 1 to June 22 this year, or up 25 percent, compared to the 3,213 infections logged in the same period in 2023, the Department of Health said.
Another dengue fatality, a 36-year-old male from Antique, was recorded, as of June 22, bringing the total regional dengue death count to 10, the DOH6 Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit reported.
There were 360 newly-reported dengue cases in Western Visayas, as of the June 16-22 monitoring, and Iloilo province has the most number of new infections at 115, for a total of 1,309 cases.
Negros Occidental logged 58 new cases (638 total), and Aklan, 53 (630 total), the DOH said.
The Bacolod City Health Office, meanwhile, said June 27 that there were eight new cases recorded for Week 23, for a total of 165 dengue infections since the start of this year.
This is 19.7 percent lower than the 213 cases with two deaths logged in the same period last year, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said, adding that Barangay Taculing has the highest number of cases at 31.
The DOH6, on the other hand, said there was an increased attack rate of dengue in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Guimaras, with clustering of cases noted in 54 barangays in Western Visayas.
Barangay Odiongan in Badiangan, Iloilo has been tagged as a “hotspot area” due to the clustering of cases with dengue death, the DOH added. | CGC
