THE Department of Health expects fewer dengue cases in the coming weeks with the onset of the cool northeast or “amihan” season.
“The number of weekly new dengue cases is already going down. I think it will continue a downward trend,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
Citing the last four reports on dengue surveillance, the number of cases reported has gone down, with 8,293 cases in Week 39 (September 22 to 28), 7,383 in Week 40 (September 29 to October 5), 6,561 in Week 41 (October 6 to 12), and 5,927 in Week 42 (October 13 to 19).
In the weeks before this, the number of new cases averaged 10,000 a week. In August this year, the DOH declared a national dengue epidemic following a spike in the number of cases in several regions. From January to July this year, there were at least 146,000 cases with 622 deaths.
The latest Dengue Surveillance Report shows there were 371,717 cases reported from January 1 to October 19. This is 106 percent higher than the 180,072 dengue cases recorded during the same period last year.
The number of deaths also went up from 927 last year to 1,407 this year.
Calabarzon had the highest number of cases (62,344) followed by Western Visayas (54,920), National Capital Region (32,040), and Central Luzon with 30,686.
Deaths caused by dengue were also highest in Western Visayas with 225 followed by Calabarzon with 185, National Capital Region with 163, and Central Visayas with 115.
Regions that exceeded the epidemic threshold are Calabarzon, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
The Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, and the National Capital Region have exceeded the alert threshold.
