While coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients continue to pile up, dengue cases have drastically gone down this year, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Latest figures from the DOH’s Dengue Surveillance Report showed there are currently 50,169 dengue cases reported from January 1 to May 30.
“The cumulative figure is 46 percent lower as compared to the 92,808 cases of the same period in 2019,” the DOH report said.
The number of deaths due to dengue likewise went down from 452 last year to only 173 this year.
The report said the Central Luzon and Central Visayas regions have higher number of dengue cases than last year, with Central Luzon dengue cases increasing by 14 percent to 7,011 cases this year as compared to last year’s 6,167 cases. On the other hand, Central Visayas saw a 3 percent increase with 8,529 cases in 2019 up to 8,807 in 2020.
The two regions likewise recorded the most number of deaths due to dengue, with Central Visayas registering 33 deaths and Central Luzon, 21 deaths.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH is expecting the number of dengue cases to rise in the coming weeks due to the onset of the rainy season.
However, DOH – Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Director Dr. Napoleon Arevalo said such a predicament may be avoided if the public will strictly adhere to the “4S Strategy” and the “4-o’clock habit” versus dengue.
4S stands for “Search and destroy” mosquito-breeding sites, employ “Self-protection measures” (i.e. wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts, and daily use of mosquito repellent), “Seek early consultation,” and “Support fogging/spraying” only in hotspot areas where increase in cases is registered for two consecutive weeks to prevent an impending outbreak.
The “4-o’clock habit,” on the other hand, is a strategy that encourages communities to do their share and take time to weed out dengue breeding sites at 4 p.m. every day.
“The general community quarantine is a good opportunity for family members to clean your homes, inside and out,” Arevalo said.