BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office of the Center for Health Development (CHD) here disclosed that dengue fever cases have suddenly increased by 90.6 percent for the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period last year because of dengue outbreaks in some parts of the region during the middle part of this year.

From January to the present, the CHD-CAR recorded a total of 1,538 dengue fever cases in the region compared to the 807 cases for the same period last year.

However, Dr. Myrna Cabotaje, CHD-CAR regional director, said all the dengue outbreaks that occurred in Lagawe, Ifugao; and Bulanao, Tabuk, Kalinga and Luna towns in Apayao are already under control, thus, there is no urgent need to be alarmed on the sudden surge of the dreaded virus that is occurring on a cyclic trend.

The health department also recorded a 120 percent increase in the deaths due to dengue for the first 10 months of this year with seven compared to the only three dengue-related deaths for the whole period last year. The dengue-related deaths this year came from Benguet with three, Ifugao, three and Kalinga, one.

Dengue fever is one of the dreaded illnesses being closely watched by health authorities because it poses a serious threat to the health condition of people in a community, considering that people are exposed to the disease due to the proliferation of dengue-carrying mosquitoes which breed on clear and stagnant water.

Based on CHD-CAR records, Kalinga had 537 dengue fever cases for the first 10 months of this year; Ifugao, 244 cases; Baguio, 200 cases; Benguet, 189 cases; Apayao, 104 cases; Mountain Province, 102 cases; and Abra, 40 cases.

Moreover, there were 53 dengue fever cases that were recorded from nearby places in Regions I and II.

Cabotaje claimed health workers in the different areas of the region have been on alert for the past several months to help the communities in reducing the further increase in the number of the dreaded disease for the protection of the lives of the children and adults.

While admitting dengue fever is considered to be one of the threats to the lives of the Cordilleras over the past several decades, the CHD-CAR official called on the people to maintain cleanliness in their surroundings.

Once individuals suffer from flu-like symptoms, she advised them to immediately consult the nearest rural health units in their places so that they could be given appropriate medical attention to prevent increased mortality because of dengue fever.

Dengue is on a cyclic trend every three years, especially in unsanitary areas because of the proliferation of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes that breed on clear and stagnant water.