KIDAPAWAN CITY -- The Department of Health (DOH) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) has reported a spike in the number of dengue cases this year with five recorded fatalities.
Dr. Imelda Quiñones, the spokesperson of DOH-12, said the Center for Health and Development (CHD-12)-Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) reported that as of March 15, dengue cases rose to 3,211 as against more than 2,000 cases during the same period last year.
“Of the five fatalities, three were from North Cotabato specifically Kidapawan City and the towns of Libungan and Makilala with one fatality each,” she said.
Quiñones said there are now three kinds of dengue disease-- those without warning signs, those with warning signs, and those severe ones.
The RESU is closely monitoring areas identified as dengue “clustered” and “hot spots.”
“An area is considered ‘clustered’ if three dengue cases were reported in four successive weeks and ‘hot spot’ if there were more than four cases of dengue in two consecutive weeks,” Quiñones said.
She identified the village of Tacupan in Carmen, Barangay Poblacion in Kabacan and Barangay Sadaan in Midsayap, all in North Cotabato, as “hot spot” areas. (PNA)
