Dengue alert: Mountain Province under state of calamity

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Philippines — Another province has been placed under a state of calamity as the number of cases due to dengue continues to rise.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Mountain Province passed a resolution yesterday declaring a state of calamity.

Vice Gov. Francis Tauli said 503 dengue cases with two deaths were reported from January to this month compared to only 117 cases during the same period last year.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office recommended the declaration to ensure the immediate implementation of measures and use of calamity funds to prevent the spread of the disease.

A state of calamity due to dengue had been earlier declared in Cavite, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Samar, Roxas, Albay, Iloilo, Guimaras and South Cotabato.

Dingalan town in Aurora; Calamba, Laguna; Pontevedra and Roxas in Capiz; Lasam, Cagayan; Roxas and Echague in Isabela as well as Sebaste in Antique are also under a state of calamity as the number of dengue cases reached the epidemic threshold.

A dengue outbreak was declared in several other areas where a surge in dengue cases and deaths were reported.

The Department of Health (DOH) declared a national dengue epidemic on Aug. 6.  As of Aug. 10, more than 160,000 cases and 661 fatalities were recorded.

The DOH said the figures are the highest in the last five years and showed an increase of 98 percent compared to the same period last year.