Philippines declares dengue alert in several regions
The Philippines on July 15 declared a national dengue alert in several regions of the Philippines due to the rapidly increasing number of cases in these areas.
The Philippines on July 15 declared a national dengue alert in several regions of the Philippines due to the rapidly increasing number of cases in these areas. (Source: philstar.com)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippines on July 15 declared a national dengue alertin several regions of the Philippines due to the rapidly increasing number ofcases in these areas.
According to the Philippine Department of Health (DoH), from January 1 to June29 this year, 106,630 dengue cases had been reported nationwide, an 85 percentincrease from the 57,564 cases reported over the same period of last year, andat least 450 deaths were recorded.
The DOH said among regions which have exceeded the epidemic threshold areMimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
This is the first time that the Philippines has declared a national alert inorder to raise public awareness, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque, addingthat there is no national epidemic yet in the country as the dengue cases areso far confined to these four regions.
Duque said the DOH is closely monitoring other regions across the country.
In the Philippines, dengue cases have been observed to peak every three to fouryears.
The last peak occurred in 2016. Given this pattern, the DOH expects an increasein cases this year, Duque said.
Dengue is a viral disease with no known vaccine or specific antibiotics.Effective surveillance helps in reducing cases and deaths if areas withclustering of cases are identified early.
Signs and symptoms of the disease are severe headache, pain behind the eyes,severe joint and muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and skin rashes.-VNA
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The Philippines on July 15 declared a national dengue alert in several regions of the Philippines due to the rapidly increasing number of cases in these areas. (Source: philstar.com) 
