The Batangas City Health Office (CHO) reported 68 dengue fever cases in the month of August, according to Jasmine Dimasacat, dengue program coordinator of CHO (computer translated).
The CHO has conducted an information education campaign (IEC) in different barangays (villages) in the city to inform the public about the mosquito borne virus. In addition, a larval survey of 100 households in Barangay Conde was performed last week, a barangay hit especially hard by dengue in the city.
The Philippines has reported more than 100,000 dengue fever cases through mid-August, including 422 deaths.
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.
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