DOH declares national dengue alert

July 15, 2019

The Department of Health (DOH) has declared a national dengue alert due to the growing number of cases.

In a press conference in Manila, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Monday also raised the code blue alert for the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) health cluster.

"This is the first time were declaring a national alert because the objective is very clear: we want to raise awareness among the public and more importantly in communities where signs of early dengue increases are evident," said Duque.

"This is something that we think is an important announcement and we might institutionalize this, especially we are aware that dengue peaks do happen every three years," he added.

Duque said they raised the nationwide alert after the epidemic threshold of MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao were exceeded.

Similarly, he said several regions are being monitored after having exceeded the alert threshold, namely Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Cordillera Administrative Region.

"We don't have a national epidemic. It's localized, at the most at the regional level. Again, there is no national epidemic but there is certainly regional," said Duque.

DOH data shows dengue cases nationwide has reached a cumulative figure of 106,630, including 456 deaths for a case fatality rate of. 4 percent, for the period of January 1 to June 29.

"This is 85 percent higher compared to the same period last year, which is 57,564," said Duque.

Most cases are from Western Visayas (13,164), Calabarzon (11,474), Central Visayas (9,199), Soccsksargen (9,107), and Northern Mindanao (8,739).

Asked why there are higher dengue cases this year than in previous years, Duque pointed at the nature of the disease.

"The observed dengue spikes every three to four years is really a phenomenon. No science is able to explain except for circumstancial evidence of climate change and other factors," he explained. DMS