Nearly 19,000 dengue cases, 190 deaths in first 8 months

Close to 19,000 people were stricken with dengue, of which 190 died, in the first eight of the year, the Department of Health reported Monday. But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III pointed out that the figures are still 4.6 percent lower than what were recorded last year. The DOH National Epidemiology Center (NEC) recorded 18,705 dengue cases from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, 2007 compared to 19,601 cases in the same period in 2006. Those affected by the mosquito-borne disease ranged from 18 days to 98 years old but a significant majority – 77 percent – were between one to 20 years old. Up to 53 percent of those affected were male. Duque reminded barangay officials to continue their clean-up activities at least once a week and to remove nonessential containers that can hold water and become breeding places of mosquitoes that carry dengue. Although there are no dengue “hotspots" at present, the NEC found “clustering" of cases in the National Capital Region (2,760), Davao Region (2,238), Central Visayas (2,215), Western Visayas (2,199), Calabarzon (1,670), Zamboanga Peninsula (1,184), and Northern Mindanao (1,026). In NCR or Metro Manila, the NEC found clustering of dengue cases in Manila, Malabon, Quezon City, Kalookan, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Parañaque, San Juan, and Valenzuela. In Luzon, there was clustering in Ilocos Norte and Pangasinan in the Ilocos Region; Benguet and Mountain Province in the CAR; Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in Central Luzon; and Rizal in Calabarzon. In the Visayas and Mindanao, there was clustering in Antique, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Guimaras in Western Visayas; Cebu in Central Visayas; Northern Samar and Northern Leyte in Eastern Visayas; Zamboanga City in Zamboanga Peninsula; and Davao del Norte in Davao Region. -GMANews.TV