Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa yesterday said the Department of Health (DOH) expects a surge in dengue cases this year based on the usual cycle of the disease in the country.
“The number of cases increases every three to five years, and our last outbreak was in 2019. Since then, we haven’t had an outbreak yet,” said Herbosa.
“It’s now 2025, and our last was in 2019. We are actually due for an increase in dengue cases this year,” he added.
In August last year, the DOH was set to declare a national dengue outbreak, but this didn’t push through after it was determined that not all areas nationwide warranted an outbreak or epidemic declaration.
Herbosa said they expect dengue cases to peak during the rainy season.
“Traditionally, the high peak for dengue cases is in July up until the ‘ber’ months,” he said.
