Bukidnon registers most number of dengue cases in Northern Mindanao

BUKIDNON, Philippines – Bukidnon logged the highest number of dengue cases in Northern Mindanao, registering so far a 335.91% increase this year compared to the same period in 2021. 

Records of the Department of Health in Northern Mindanao (DOH-X) record showed 2,428 cases of dengue infections in Bukidnon province from January 1 to August 6. During the same period last year, the DOH logged 557 cases. 

Cagayan de Oro ranked second with 1,157 cases, registering a 123.36% increase from 518 cases during the same period in 2021.

The third was Misamis Oriental which saw 1,059 cases or a 142.89% increase from its 436 cases last year.

Lanao del Norte ranked fourth with 744 cases, but its percentage change was the highest at 481.25%. During the same period in 2021, it logged only 128 cases.

Misamis Occidental had the least number at 518 cases or a 7.90% increase from its 481 cases during the January 1-August 6 period in 2021.

Bukidnon, the province with the highest number of dengue infections so far this year, logged 466 cases in Valencia City, 290 in Maramag town, 259 in Malaybalay City, 154 in Manolo Fortich, 132 in Dangcagan, and 124 in Don Carlos. The remaining 16 Bukidnon towns registered two-digit cases.

Dr. Jose Llacuna, DOH-X director, said the region posted a percentage change of 158.97% at 6,464 cases compared with the 2,496 cases during the same period in 2021.   

The DOH-X data showed 17 dengue-caused deaths in the region from January 1 this year to August 6. But records made public by the DOH didn’t show how many died of dengue in Northern Mindanao last year.

The Bukidnon Provincial Health Office (PHO) has so far recorded six deaths in Don Carlos, Maramag, Pangantucan, and Sumilao towns this year.

Regionwide, dengue fever afflicted mostly children aged one to 10 years with 3,280 cases. There were 235 infants infected.

Young people, ages 11 to 20 years, followed at 1,804 cases while 593 others, within the 21 to 30 years age bracket, got infected.

The DOH-X registered 129 infections that afflicted the elderly.

Dr. Gary Guido Tabios Jr., Bukidnon’s health chief, told the provincial board on Tuesday, August 9, that measures have been implemented to address the increasing number of dengue cases in the province this year like fielding health workers to search and destroy mosquito breeding grounds in the villages.

“What is important in dengue management is vector control. It is vital to destroy the breeding grounds of these dengue-carrying mosquitoes because if their population rapidly grows, then there’ll be a faster transmission of dengue,” Tabios said. 

Tabios said chemicals that could prevent the maturation of larvae were also distributed across Bukidnon, and schools were given relatively expensive insecticide-treated nets. 

Tabios said the frequent rains in Bukidnon increased the chances of more dengue mosquito breeding grounds in the villages. – Rappler.com