By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

While the Philippines as a whole is reporting a significant drop in dengue fever cases in 2021, some areas or provinces are reporting an increase this year.

Image/DOH

In South Cotabato, located in the Soccsksargen region in Mindanao, health officials are concerned over the rising cases of dengue.

The South Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) report they already recorded a total of 728 confirmed dengue cases and six fatalities from Jan. 1 to June 7.

This is 24-percent higher than the 589 cases, with only three deaths, recorded in the same period last year.

Health authorities in Pangasinan, located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon, the Provincial Health Office (PHO) has recorded 1,660 dengue cases from January 1 to June 14 this year, 67-percent higher than the 995 cases in the same period last year.

DOH-CHD 1 spokesperson Dr. Rheuel Bobis said, “There was a notable spike in the number of dengue cases this year. This might be due to neglect of the cleanliness of surroundings as dengue mosquitoes breed in stagnant waters”.

Despite these increases in some areas, overall the number of dengue cases and deaths dropped significantly in the first four months of 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Officials note there were only 21,478 cases of dengue from January to April 17, or a 56 percent decrease from the 49,135 cases reported from the same period in 2020.