The Manila City Health Office reported Saturday that it recorded 89 cases of dengue from different sentinel hospitals last week, noting that three of the patients died.

Statistics showed that District 1 had the most number of dengue patients with 34 reported cases. District 3 registered 16 cases; District 2 had 15 cases; District 4, 12 cases; District 6, seven cases while District 5 has the least number of cases with five.

The data seemed to indicate that males and children aged 10 to 14 years old are more prone to dengue than other sectors.

The Manila City Health Office also reported a 13 percent increase in the number of dengue cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 21 compared to the same period last year.

Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Jerry Yson said they are "in better control" of the dengue problem. However, he said eradicating the disease would require the full cooperation of the city government and the communities.

"The problem of the communities is their cleanliness program," said Yson. "They have the knowledge on how to eradicate dengue, but the practices are lacking."

For its part, the Manila City Health Office is encouraging the 4 o' clock habit in all barangays and schools, which basically instructs children to pick up trash so as to eliminate any possible breeding areas of mosquitoes. "With less mosquitoes, there would be less transmission," said Yson.

Moreover, the Manila City Health Office is conducting active surveillance of dengue cases in all private and public hospitals, with regular spraying in barangays using an Ultra Low Volume Machine, which gives a very fine mist which spreads chemicals in the air longer and sticks to walls.