AMID the declaration of a national dengue epidemic by the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, the number of dengue cases recorded in Pampanga decreased by 44 percent, according to a report of the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response.
Dengue cases and deaths in the province as of July 27, 2019 showed only 1,404 cases, a decrease of almost 50 percent from the 2,487 cases in the same period in 2018.
Pampanga also recorded a considerable decrease in the number of deaths with three deaths recorded as of July, lower than the eight recorded deaths in 2019.
Currently, there are 10,637 confirmed dengue cases in Central Luzon.
Majority of the dengue cases in the region were from the provinces of Tarlac (24 percent), Bulacan (23 percent) and Nueva Ecija (17 percent). There are currently nine recorded deaths in the region as of July this year.
In 2018, the whole region recorded some 13,311 cases with 42 recorded deaths.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration of a national dengue epidemic on Tuesday, August 6.
From January 1 to July 20, 2019, Duque said there have been a total of 146,062 dengue cases, including 622 deaths. This was almost double the cases recorded in the same period in 2018.
The DOH said the Western Visayas topped the list with 23,330 cases followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 16,515 cases; Zamboanga Peninsula with 12,317; Northern Mindanao with 11,455; and Soccsksargen with 11,083.
"It is important that a national epidemic be declared in these areas to identify where a localized response is needed and to enable the local government units to use their quick response fund to address the situation," Duque said.
