N. Cotabato dengue cases on the rise

KIDAPAWAN CITY -The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) in North Cotabato has recorded from first until second quarter of this year a 50 percent increase of dengue cases as compared to last year of the same period. IPHO-Cotabato chief Dr. Eva Rabaya said that based on their monitoring, the cases numbered to 1,000, some 50 percent increase as compared to last year. In 2014, it recorded 595 cases. Of the 17 towns and a city in North Cotabato, Midsayap has the most number of dengue cases second is Kidapawan City and third, Tulunan. Last year, the town of Midsayap has also registered the highest number of dengue cases.In fact, reports said the town has recorded four deaths in 2014. This year, from January to June, at least four deaths due to complications of the dengue virus were also recorded – two from Alamada and one each from Midsayap and Aleosan. Based on IPHO data, the number of dengue cases monitored for the first half of 2014 in North Cotabato was only 595, much lower than the 2,224 cases for the same period in 2013. Rabaya said her office, in partnership with the rural health stations in the province, are aggressively propagating dengue prevention and treatment practices. She said the onset of rains is considered a reason for the increase in dengue cases. Mosquitoes causing dengue breed in the floods brought by the recent rains. It has been raining in North Cotabato since last quarter of May. The town of Midsayap, which registered the most number of dengue cases from 2014 until 2015, is a low-lying area located near the Liguasan marsh.