Dengue is spiking in northern Iloilo. Check your trash.

ILOILO CITY — Estancia recorded the highest number of dengue cases among Iloilo province’s 42 municipalities and one component city, with 535 infections and eight deaths from Jan. 4 to Oct. 31, 2026, according to provincial health data.

The municipality’s caseload rose 361% from the 116 cases recorded during the same period last year, prompting the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) to call for intensified cleanup drives and stronger community participation in dengue prevention.

The latest figure is up from the 460 dengue cases, including eight deaths, from Jan. 4 to Oct. 10 that Estancia had logged three weeks earlier.

IPHO head Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon expressed concern over the increase despite interventions by the provincial and municipal health offices and the local government.

She also reported rising cases in the neighboring coastal towns of Balasan, Batad, and Carles in northern Iloilo.

Quiñon attributed the continuing transmission partly to poor waste management and residents’ failure to eliminate mosquito-breeding sites.

“The people took for granted the seek and destroy breeding places; their solid waste management is not good. If the management is not good, solid waste becomes the breeding sites of our mosquitoes,” Quiñon said in a statement.

She warned that Iloilo province could surpass last year’s dengue caseload if infections continue to increase in affected areas.

Quiñon urged barangays to activate their Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue (ABKD) task forces and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate mosquito-breeding sites.

“We are emphasizing cleanup; look for breeding places. I am calling our barangays to activate their Aksyon Barangay Kontra Dengue,” she said.

She stressed that dengue prevention should not be left solely to barangay health workers, saying households must also take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean.

Residents were also urged to follow the Department of Health’s 4S strategy: search and destroy mosquito-breeding sites, self-protection against mosquito bites, seek early consultation, and say yes to fogging when there is an impending outbreak.

The strategy calls on households to regularly inspect their surroundings and remove stagnant water, use protective clothing and mosquito repellent, and seek medical attention early when symptoms develop.

Fogging may be conducted in areas with impending outbreaks upon the recommendation of health authorities.

Provincewide, Iloilo recorded 5,151 dengue cases and 22 deaths during the reporting period, 4% lower than the 5,373 cases and 24 deaths recorded in the same period in 2025.

That gap has narrowed sharply this year. In April, the IPHO reported a 66 percent reduction in the number of cases compared to the same period last year. By mid-September, the provincial total was 29 percent lower than the 4,709 cases recorded during the same morbidity week in 2025.

The province had already reached the alert threshold in August.

Carles ranked second with 435 cases and five deaths, followed by Calinog with 310 cases and Dumangas with 259.

Cabatuan and Passi City each recorded 256 cases.

Ajuy logged 195 cases and two deaths, while Balasan recorded 184.

Concepcion and Lambunao each had 167 cases.

Other dengue-related deaths were reported in Sara, San Dionisio, Dingle, Miagao, Leon, San Rafael, and San Joaquin.

Dengue clustering was recorded in 98 barangays across 28 municipalities, with Carles having the most at 13 barangays.

Clustering refers to the occurrence of at least three dengue cases in the same barangay within four consecutive morbidity weeks.

It indicates areas that require closer monitoring and timely public health interventions.

By age, children ages 5 to 9 recorded the most infections at 1,026.

They were followed by those ages 10 to 14, with 939 cases, and adolescents ages 15 to 19, with 780.

Those ages 20 to 29 recorded 757 cases, while those 40 and older accounted for 611.

Children ages 1 to 4 had 594 cases, followed by those ages 30 to 39 with 246 and infants younger than 1 with 178.

Iloilo City, which is not part of the provincial count, has reached both the alert and epidemic thresholds for dengue.

The City Health Office recorded 785 dengue cases from Jan. 4 to Oct. 31, with eight deaths, a 37.7% increase from last year.