ILOILO – The municipality of Oton now has the most number of dengue cases in the province, data from the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) showed.
Oton has 193 commulative dengue cases since Jan. 1 of this year but with zero deaths.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease.
The town of San Joaquin has the second most number of dengue cases at 167, also with no deaths.
Last month, San Joaquin declared a state of calamity due to dengue.
“Guimbal ang third,” said Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, IPHO head.
Oton also the the most number o f barangays with clustering of cases – 16.
These villages are Botong (five cases), Lambuyao (four cases), Poblacion West (four cases), Abilay Norte (five cases), Santa Clara (five cases), Poblacion North (three cases), Buray (12 cases), Mambog (three cases), Caboloan Norte (three cases), Trapiche (five cases), Cagbang (11 cases), Poblacion South (four cases), Alegre (five cases), San Antonio (three cases), Poblacion East (11 cases), and Batuan Ilaud (three cases).
In San Joaquin, only one village has clustering of cases (three or more cases within four consecutive weeks) – Purok 1.
Dengue causes a severe flu-like illness that could sometimes be fatal. Its carriers are day-biting mosquitoes (Aedes albpictus and Aedes aegypti) that live and breed and clean, stagnant water.
Provincewide, Iloilo’s dengue cases (from Jan. 1 to Aug. 6) are up by 491 percent from last year’s in the same period.
Other towns with high dengue cases are Tubungan (120), Banate (110), Miag-ao (96 cases with two deaths), Pototan (92), Dumangas (87 cases with one death), Leon (67), and Pavia (65).
The province also recorded 16 dengue deaths. These were the following:
* 13 years old, female from Alimodian
* 7 years old, male from Barotac Nuevo
* 7 years old, male from Barotac Viejo
* 88 years old, female from Dingle
* 4 years old, female from Dumangas
* 7 years old, male from Guimbal
* 16 years old, female from Guimbal
* 10 years old, female from Guimbal
* 17 years old, male from Igbaras
* 24 years old, female from Leganes
* 22 years old, female from Leganes
* less than one year old, male from Miag-ao
* 18 years old, female from Miag-ao
* 16 years old, male from Passi City
* 6 months old, male from Passi City
* one year old, male from Santa Barbara
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./PN