BAGUIO CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) - Cordillera has recorded a spike of 120 percent in dengue cases during the first six months of the year.
A report from the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) shows that there were 1,540 dengue cases recorded in the Cordillera region from January to June 2018, up 120 percent from 700 cases during the same period last year.
The report shows Kalinga has 333 cases, or 21.6 percent of the total number of dengue cases; Benguet recorded 332 cases, or 21.6 percent; Apayao, 240 cases or 15.6 percent; and Baguio City, 165 cases or corresponding to 10.7 percent of the total.
Abra has 154 cases, or 10 percent of the total; Ifugao, 47 cases, or 3.1 percent; and Mountain Province, 41 cases, or 2.7 percent as reported by the Disease Reporting Units (DRUs) in the provinces and the city.
Patients from non-Cordillera provinces, who sought medical assistance in the different hospitals in the region, marked 14.8 percent with 228 cases.
In a follow-up interview, nurse Geeny Austria of the RESU on Friday said there were three reported deaths from the region and one non-Cordillera resident.
Austria cautioned residents to always observe cleanliness in their surroundings and houses and to remove all possible mosquito breeding places.
She made the call as she explained that the number of dengue cases may peak during the rainy season and may reach widespread proportions if preventive measures or control are not taken.
In a press conference on Thursday, Baguio General Hospital Medical Center Blood Bank Nurse Roselyn Reyes said that blood is very important in saving and extending life.
She said that this is especially true during the rainy season, when illnesses that require blood transfusion increase. Dengue is one of them, she said,
For dengue patients, what is transfused to the patients is a platelet concentrate, which is obtained from fresh whole blood. Platelet concentrate is obtained by the process of spinning the blood and collecting the buffy coat, which contains the concentrated platelets and white blood cells, needed to boost the blood level of one who is infected with dengue.
She said that blood is in demand between the months of May and June.
Reyes said there are still a lot of people who donate blood, especially with the health benefits that go with giving the life-saving resource.
During the first quarter of the year, BGHMC was able to collect 5,432 units of blood that benefited 5,176 patients.
She explained that aside from walk-in blood donors, they also maintain a list of walking donors, aside from encouraging relatives of the patients to give their blood and save a kin.
“We encourage the community and everyone to donate blood to help others extend their life,” she said. (PNA)
