Dengue is not seasonal, now a year-long threat

Admitting that dengue is no longer a seasonal disease, health authorities said Tuesday they are adjusting government responses to the spread of the disease. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he has ordered his department to mobilize all available resources to stop dengue on a year-round instead of a seasonal basis. "Dengue is no longer a seasonal disease. It is now spreading all year round. This has been the trend in our neighboring countries," Duque told dzBB radio in Filipino. He said other "tropical" countries in the Southeast Asian region, including Thailand and Vietnam, have recorded a rise in dengue cases recently. Even Singapore, which he said is regarded as a clean city, recorded a doubling of dengue cases in 2005 and 2006, Duque said. Duque said he has ordered the Health Department to prepare for a year-round fight against the disease, spread by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water. "We have to adjust our campaign against dengue. I have ordered the DOH to mobilize all resources to stop it," he said. Earlier in the day, dzBB radio reported that dengue has struck anew in Metro Manila, causing the hospitalization of almost one resident a day this month. It said the Rizal Medical Center in Pasig City already recorded at least 27 cases since Jan. 1, the latest case being brought there Monday night. Initial reports identified the latest patient as one Landie Minao of Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, whom doctors diagnosed as suffering from Stage-2 dengue hemorrhagic fever. Hospital doctors said patients were mostly from Taguig City, Pasig City, Makati City, and Taytay and Cainta towns in Rizal province. Despite the seeming rise in dengue cases, however, doctors said none of the patients brought to the Rizal Medical Center since Jan. 1 have died. Some of the "worse" cases involved Stage-4 dengue, but there have been no deaths reported so far. - GMANews.TV