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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro continued to see a surge in dengue fever infections this year, logging a 170% increase compared to a nearly eight-month period in 2021.
The city ranked second in the number of dengue cases in Northern Mindanao, next to Bukidnon province which registered more than 2,400 cases since January 2022 – a 335.9% increase compared to cases recorded during the same period in 2021.
With 1,028 cases since January, Cagayan de Oro now has the most dengue infections among Northern MIndanao cities.
The Cagayan de Oro City Health Office said the number could increase further because of the frequent rain that create breeding grounds for the dengue-carrying Aedes mosquitoes.
City health officer Rachel Dilla said on Monday, August 15, that the number of documented dengue fever cases in the city since January was a far cry from the 378 cases city hall recorded during the same period in 2021.
The city’s most populous village, Carmen, registered the highest number of dengue cases with 128, followed by neighboring barangays Balulang with 59, Patag with 69, and Lumbia with 76 cases.
Dilla said the surge was noted between May and June when the number of infections brought the city beyond the alert threshold level, and then it slightly went down between July and the first two weeks of August.
Health authorities said they saw a pattern of increase in Cagayan de Oro’s dengue cases every two to three years since 1998.
The CHO has so far registered 10 dengue-related deaths in the city in 2022.
“Dengue can kill, but it can be avoided if we clean our surroundings and look for and destroy the mosquitoes’ breeding sites,” Dilla said.
Daisy Zapanta, a mother from Barangay Agusan, said her two-year-old boy nearly died in July due to dengue fever.
“My son spent two weeks in the ICU, and another week in the recovery room,” said Zapanta who described their ordeal as a “nightmare.”
Her son survived, but the cost of the hospitalization, which amounted to half a million pesos, strained the family’s finances.
“We don’t know where my son got the virus, but we are thankful that he is alive, and is recovering well,” Zapanta said. – Rappler.com
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