The latest report of the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) here said “a total of 4,347 dengue cases were reported by different Disease Reporting Units in the region as of March 31, 2018.”
Eighty five percent of the cases needed hospitalization.
“This is four percent higher compared to the same time period last year,” the report said, noting a total of 4,177 cases last year.
The report said the patients were aged from one year to 92 years old, with a median of 14. Forty- five of the cases were from 11 to 20 years old.
The kids given Dengvaxia vaccines were aged 11 when they got the first of three vaccine doses.
The report said Pampanga topped with its 834 “probable” dengue cases, followed by Bataan with 351, Nueva Ecija with 248, Tarlac with 235, Bulacan with 201, Zambales with 34, and Aurora with 26.
The latest report said three deaths were reported in Pampanga and two each in Bataan and Tarlac.
The DOH, however, noted more deaths within the same period in the past years, with 15 fatalities last year and 13 in 2016.
The DOH also noted a clustering of dengue cases in San Fernando, Apalit, Floridablanca, Lubao, Mabalacat, and Mexico in Pampanga; Balanga City in Bataan; Balagtas, Baliuag, Bulakan, Hagonoy, Malolos, Marilao, Meycauayan, San Jose del Monte, and San Rafeal in Bulacan; Cabanatuan, Cabiao, and San Antonio in Nueva Ecija; Concepcion, La Paz and Tarlac City in Tarlac; and Olongapo and San Marcelino in Zambales.
In another report, the DOH said 17 kids who were vaccinated with Dengvaxia have died, but their deaths have yet to be linked to dengue even as others were confirmed to have died of other causes.
