VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur, Philippines — Provincial officials declared this province under a state of calamity due to the alarming increase in dengue cases, Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson said Thursday.

Singson said he signed the resolution by members of the provincial board who unanimously declared the province as under state of calamity status due to the rapid increase in dengue cases.

“We immediately came out for the formal declaration of the Ilocos Sur province as under state of calamity after we received reports regarding the increased number of dengue cases have caused alarmed on the danger that it brings to our constituents,” Singson said of Resolution No. 113 series of 2011, dated August 1, 2011.

“Due to the very alarming effects that this dreaded dengue disease had brought to the communities, there’s a need to declare the province in a state of calamity to allow the calamity funds for use in the massive eradication of the dengue carrier virus,” Singson added.

As of Wednesday; the Ilocos Sur’s Provincial Health Team Office (PHTO) had already recorded at least 1,169 dengue cases with eight deaths.

The eight dengue deaths were recorded in Santo Domingo – 1 fatality; Cabugao – 3; Santa Lucia – 2; Santa Cruz – 1; and Narvacan – 1.

Based on the records from the PHTO – Ilocos Sur; the top ten towns having the large number of dengue cases as of August 3, 2011 were the following: Santo Domingo – 195 dengue cases; Cabugao – 149; San Juan – 99; Vigan City – 90; Santa Lucia – 78; Bantay – 69; Tagudin – 66; Magsingal – 51; and Candon City – 51 cases.

Provincial Dengue Operation’s Officer Rogelio Varilla told, “the dengue cases will be expected to increase from time to time as we are expecting more reports from the different local government units in the province while we are intensifying the monitoring of dengue cases.”

Meanwhile, the provincial board noted in their resolution that the outbreak of dengue disease in the province had “tremendously increased by 300% as compared with the 2010 cases in Ilocos Sur, despite the preventive measure being under taken.”

To control the spread of the dengue disease, the members of the provincial board initiated the different environmental control activities, information campaign and the promotion of 4S Contra Dengue – such as seek and destroy breeding places; self – protection by wearing long sleeves and pants in going ot places infested with mosquitoes; to seek early consultation with fever of two days and other emergency measures have also been extensively made by the government and its health workers to prevent the spread of mosquitoes carrying dengue in the communities.