Officials with Philippines Department of Health (DOH) report that the number of dengue fever cases reported from the beginning of the year through June 25 is nearly 36 percent higher than the same period in 2015 when the archipelago reported in excess of 200,000 cases.

Aedes aegypti Image/CDC
Aedes aegypti
Image/CDC

To date,  DOH there were 57,026 dengue cases recorded nationwide, compared to 42,026 cases last year during the first six months.

In addition, dengue related fatalities are up–248 compared with 148 in 2015 during the same period.

The regions hit the hardest to date include Calabarzon with 7,463 (13.1 percent); Central Visayas, 5,783 (10.1 percent); Central Luzon, 5,586 (9.8 percent); northern Mindanao, 5,521 (9.7 percent); and Socssksargen, 4,583 (8 percent).

Dengue fever is a disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, or DENV 4). The viruses are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.

The principal symptoms of dengue fever are high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash, and mild bleeding(e.g., nose or gums bleed, easy bruising). Generally, younger children and those with their first dengue infection have a milder illness than older children and adults.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.

More about dengue fever

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