Manila (dpa) - The Philippine health department on Thursday raised
the alarm over the nearly 50-per-cent increase of dengue fever cases
in the first seven months of the year.
Enrique Ona, secretary of the Department of Health, urged people
to maintain cleanliness in their surroundings and get rid of
potential breeding sites of mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus.
Ona said dengue cases from January to July rose by 48 per cent to
40,648 from 27,473 for the same period last year.
Ona added that deaths caused by dengue rose to 328 in the first
seven months of the year from 293 for the same period last year.
The health department said that while dengue is an all-year
disease, cases tend to spike during the rainy season.
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