Dengue clusters hit 63 Iloilo barangays, IPHO reports

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY – Sixty-three barangays in Iloilo province have recorded dengue clustering as of Aug. 8, the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) reported.

The affected barangays are spread across 23 municipalities and one component city, or about 3.7% of the province’s 1,721 barangays.

The IPHO dengue surveillance report covering the 31st morbidity week listed clusters in Ajuy, Alimodian, Balasan, Batad, Bingawan, Cabatuan, Calinog, Carles, Concepcion, Dingle, Dumangas, Estancia, Janiuay, Lambunao, Maasin, Miagao, Oton, Passi City, San Dionisio, San Enrique, San Miguel, San Rafael, Santa Barbara, and Tigbauan.

A cluster is declared when a barangay records three or more cases within four consecutive morbidity weeks.

Iloilo logged 1,834 dengue cases and seven deaths from Jan. 4 to Aug. 8.

That caseload is 53% lower than the 3,896 cases recorded during the same period in 2025.

Cases have continued to accumulate, with 239 logged from Aug. 2 to 8, the single week covered by the latest report.

Calinog posted the highest cumulative total at 153 cases, followed by Cabatuan with 140, Estancia with 125, Passi City with 88, Ajuy with 87, Dumangas with 82, Lambunao with 65, Concepcion with 63, Carles with 60, and Maasin with 59.

Those 10 localities alone account for 922 cases, or roughly half the provincial total.

Estancia and Carles recorded two deaths each, while Ajuy, San Dionisio, and Dingle recorded one each.

IPHO chief Dr. Maria Socorro C. Quiñon earlier announced that the province had reached its dengue alert threshold during the 29th morbidity week, covering July 19 to 25.

The threshold was computed from Iloilo’s five-year dengue surveillance data, excluding 2024, when the province experienced an outbreak.

Quiñon warned that a continued increase in cases could push the province toward the epidemic threshold.

Under the Department of Health surveillance system, alert and epidemic thresholds track disease trends and prompt local governments to intervene before cases escalate.

Quiñon said barangays reporting increases commonly had numerous mosquito breeding sites, including containers that collect water and areas affected by improper solid waste management.

Dengue is transmitted primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in clean standing water in and around homes rather than in canals or drainage.

Case counts across the country typically climb with the rainy season, which in Western Visayas runs from roughly June through October.

She urged residents to clean their surroundings regularly, empty stagnant water, and properly dispose of containers that can collect rainwater.

The health office also advised the public to watch for dengue symptoms including high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting, and skin rashes.

Patients who develop symptoms should seek consultation promptly, particularly when warning signs appear, because severe dengue can be fatal without timely treatment.

The IPHO urged barangays to intensify the Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue campaign and asked residents to follow the DOH 4S strategy: search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, secure self-protection, seek early consultation for fever and other symptoms, and support targeted fogging or spraying in hotspot areas when an outbreak is imminent.