CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – The Philippine Pediatric Society-Central Visayas (PPS-7) announced that Central Visayas recorded the highest number of cases of dengue in the country in 2024.
During the Media Round Table in Cebu City, Chong Hua Hospital pediatrician and PPS-7 member Dr. Marie Ellaine Nielo disclosed that based on the latest data of the Department of Health (DOH), Central Visayas recorded 33,651 dengue cases with 57 deaths from Jan.1 to Nov. 9.
Nielo said the region surpassed the number of dengue cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 26,663 cases within the same period.
In the first half of 2024, dengue cases in the region more than doubled to 15,394 from 7,132 within the same period in 2023.
Among the provinces in the region, Bohol recorded the highest cases of dengue with 5,165, followed by Cebu with 4,592, Negros Oriental with 2,689, and Siquijor with 637 cases.
Meanwhile, for Cebu’s highly urbanized cities, Cebu City had the most number of dengue cases with 1,360 and three deaths recorded, Mandaue City with 437 cases and one death, and Lapu-Lapu City with 504 dengue cases.
Nielo said children aged one to 10 years old are mostly affected by dengue cases for 2024.
She emphasized the importance of the data as dengue surveillance for early outbreak detection.
“We want to be able to allocate resources where there are hotspots and that’s why we declare outbreaks,” she said.
Nielo added that the data guides public health interventions, evaluates control measures, enhances community awareness, supports research and development, and policy developmen
