By Anthony Giron
TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite – Two more persons have died, bringing to nine the number of dengue deaths in Cavite province's eight districts, the latest Provincial Health Office (PHO) revealed on Tuesday.
The two latest deaths were reported in Bacoor and Tanza.
The Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (PESU) reported that there were 1,917 cases that have been recorded in the province's lowland and upland districts in Morbidity Week 11 or the period from January 1 to March 23 this year.
The Department of Health (DoH) confirmed over the weekend that Cavite had the highest number of cases in Region IV-A or the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) area.
In its latest update, the PESU said that there has been no declaration of a dengue outbreak in the province based on the epidemic threshold.
The recorded number of deaths and cases during the first three months of the year was lower by three percent as compared with those reported in the same period in 2018 with seven deaths and 1,979 cases.
"The (dengue) cases was indeed increasing but it's manageable with the treatment and 4s and other measures being implemented in every barangay (village)," PHO Dengue Coordinator Annabelle Dilig told this reporter.
The PHO earlier called on the citizens and barangay officials to implement the 4s strategy in their areas. The 4S strategy is consist of “Search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, Secure self-protection, Seek early consultation, and Support fogging/spraying to prevent an impending outbreak.”
Provincial Epidemiologist Nelson Soriano, citing latest reports, said that there were six dengue deaths in Dasmarinas City and one each in General Trias City, Bacoor City and Tanza municipality.
The dengue cases were reported in all of the province's seven cities and 16 municipalities. The top five with the most number of cases are Dasmarinas with 340, Bacoor 264, Imus City 223, General Trias 185, and Carmona municipality 126.
Cavite is the country’s most populous province, which makes it susceptible to outbreaks of diseases such as dengue and measles.