BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – This city has five dengue-related fatalities in the past six months, according to the City Health Office (CHO).
The fatalities were an 11-year-old boy from Barangay Singcang-Airport; a 20-year-old woman from Barangay Pahanocoy; a 19-year-old man from Barangay Sum-ag; a 75-year-old male from Barangay Tangub; and a three-year-old girl from Barangay Mansilingan.
CHO data also showed dengue cases in Bacolod City at 279 since January – a 179 percent increase from the 100 cases with two fatalities recorded in the same period in 2021.
Barangay Tangub currently has the most number of dengue cases (25), followed by Barangay Mansilingan (22), Barangay Estefania (21) and Singcang-Airport with 21.
Among the barangays with a high number of dengue cases were Sum-ag (20), Mandalagan (19), Taculing (17); Villamonte, Alijis and Handumanan (15), Barangay Granada (14), Cabug (10), and Banago (eight).
Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness that could sometimes be fatal.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea / vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rashes.
For severe dengue, the warning signs to look out for are: severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in vomit, fatigue, and restlessness.
The two mosquitoes known to spread dengue are the Aedes aegypti and the Aedes albopictus./PN