El Niño also blamed for rise in dengue cases

The El Niño phenomenon that affected the country last summer has also contributed to the increase in the number of dengue cases this year, a Department of Health (DOH) official told a news forum Sunday. “Since we were earlier hit by El Niño, people start storing water and such stagnant water became the breeding place of the mosquitoes that carry dengue," said DOH assistant secretary Elmer Punzalan at the weekly Balitaan sa Tinapayan forum in Sampaloc, Manila. The El Niño is an abnormal weather pattern caused by the warming of the Pacific Ocean. The DOH has recorded 67,000 dengue cases so far, most of them in Metro Manila. Of this number, 435 had died. Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses.

Health secretary Enrique Ona has ordered all DOH hospitals to activate their dengue express lanes to facilitate patient admission for these severe dengue cases. He also appealed to private hospitals to set up additional wards and beds for dengue patients needing confinement. Punzalan advised patients with symptoms of dengue fever to drink a lot of liquids and avoid taking aspirin as it can decrease the platelets that could result to internal bleeding. In Malacañang, Presidential Communication Operations Office head Herminio Coloma said there is no need to place the country under a state of national calamity despite the declaration of outbreak in several areas, including Quezon City. Interviewed by Radyo ng Bayan, Coloma said the DOH is still on top of the situation. “Wala pang katibayan kung bakit kailangan magdeklara ng national state of calamity, sa pakiwari nila kontrolado pa ang sitwasyon (There is no need to declare a national state of calamity. The DOH says the situation is still under control)," he said. He added that there is continued close monitoring of the situation to ensure that appropriate actions would be taken at the right time. - KBK, GMANews.TV