THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday said it is helping nine local government units (LGUs) in Calabarzon, Central Luzon and the National Capital Region (NCR) that have seen a sharp increase in dengue cases.
In a radio interview, DOH spokesman Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said Quezon City is among the Metro Manila LGUs with a rising number of dengue cases.
On Saturday, the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak after recording 1,769 cases from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, which is almost 200 percent higher compared to the cases logged for the same period last year.
At least 10 dengue deaths were logged, eight of them were minors.
FIGHTING DENGUE Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates a classroom at the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025, days after Quezon City declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Across the country, the DOH reported a total of 28,234 cases from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1, a 40-percent increase in cases for the same period in 2024.
“What’s different is the early rains, it’s not the rainy season, the shear line, ITCZ, easterlies, water gather in places, and mosquitoes breed there,” Domingo said in Filipino.
He said the behavior of mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus has varied due to climate change.
Domingo advised the public to wear protective clothing, use mosquito repellent, and to destroy breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
One of the symptoms of dengue is high-grade fever which ranges from 39 to 40 C, four to 10 days after a mosquito bite.
“Sometimes, we have to be more cautious when fever is gone after four or five days. The pattern of dengue is, fever will be very high then very low,” he said. “After the fever, warning signs like bleeding of gums, rashes, different color of stool, which is already an advanced stage, it means there’s bleeding inside the body.”
The DOH Centers for Health Development, through their respective Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Units (RESU), have advised their ESU counterparts about dengue cases at the LGU level.
According to the DOH, the declaration of a local dengue outbreak may only be done by an LGU official, in accordance with law.
“The declaration of an outbreak does not mean a disaster. It only means the number of cases is unusually higher,” Domingo said.
The DOH encourages community cleanup drives to destroy mosquito breeding sites and for people to use mosquito repellent lotions and sprays to prevent the cases from increasing.
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Archie Timtiman, president of the Alumni and School Parents-Teachers Association, fumigates classrooms and the yard of the Commonwealth High School on Feb. 17, 2025 to help protect students from dengue after the Quezon City government declared a dengue outbreak. PHOTO BY ISMAEL DE JUAN
Meanwhile, residents in Quezon City are being urged to manage their trash.
In a statement on Sunday, the EcoWaste Coalition said residents should put the QC Environment Code into practice to help beat the dengue outbreak.
“Abiding by these requirements of the QC Environment Code, as well as Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, will deprive Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that can spread the dengue virus, with spots to lay eggs,” said Jove Benosa, EcoWaste zero waste campaigner, noting that the improper disposal of garbage could catch water where dengue mosquitoes can breed.
The group gave the following reminders to residents: Segregate discards at source; keeping nonbiodegradables dry and clean; check and remove standing water in your home and neighborhood; keep containers and anything that can collect water in a dry place; cover water tanks, drums and pails with lids or mosquito-proof mesh; drain and clean water containers thoroughly once a week; change water in flower vases weekly; loosen soil in potted plants to prevent water from stagnating on the surface; clean pet drinking bowls daily and clear blocked roof drains to avoid water ponding.
