Iloilo City breaches dengue epidemic threshold as cases climb

ILOILO CITY — Dengue cases in Iloilo City have risen 37.7% this year, with eight deaths recorded as of Oct. 31, prompting the City Health Office (CHO) to intensify prevention measures and urge residents to seek early medical consultation.

CHO head Dr. Mary Ann Diaz said the city recorded 785 dengue cases from Jan. 4 to Oct. 31, up from the same period last year.

Diaz also confirmed that the city has already reached both the alert and epidemic thresholds for dengue.

The increase runs counter to the national trend, with the Department of Health (DOH) reporting fewer dengue cases nationwide this year than in 2025.

Of the eight fatalities, one was recorded in February: a 14-year-old boy from Baldoza, La Paz.

Four deaths were recorded in August: a 7-year-old girl from Lopez Jaena Norte; a 4-year-old boy from Dela Rama; a 49-year-old woman from Filomena, Arevalo; and an 8-year-old child from Mansaya, Lapuz.

Three more deaths were recorded in September: a 32-year-old woman from Boulevard, Molo; a 12-year-old girl from San Isidro, Jaro; and an 8-year-old girl from Baldoza, La Paz.

Six of the eight fatalities were children aged 4 to 14.

Clusters in 28 barangays

The city has also recorded dengue clusters in 28 barangays, four of which have been identified as hotspots.

Among the barangays with the most clustered cases were Hinactacan with 10; San Isidro, Jaro, with eight; Tabuc Suba, Jaro, with seven; and MV Hechanova and Dela Rama with six each.

So-oc, Dulunan, and Burgos-Mabini each recorded five clustered cases.

A barangay is considered to have a dengue cluster when it records at least three cases within four consecutive weeks.

Diaz said CHO surveillance showed that barangays with more dengue cases and deaths were generally densely populated and had problems with garbage accumulation and stagnant water.

Daily cleanup, first-day consultation

She said the city was intensifying its campaign under the 4S strategy, particularly the search and destruction of mosquito breeding sites and early medical consultation.

The DOH’s 4S strategy calls on the public to search and destroy mosquito breeding sites, secure self-protection, seek early consultation, and support fogging or spraying only in hotspot areas.

Diaz urged residents to clean their surroundings daily instead of relying solely on scheduled weekly barangay cleanups.

“If there are no mosquito breeding sites, there will be no mosquitoes and, consequently, no dengue cases. This is why we are campaigning for massive and intensive cleanup activities in barangays,” Diaz said.

She urged residents to work together in cleaning their surroundings, both inside and outside their homes, to eliminate possible mosquito breeding sites.

Diaz also stressed the importance of seeking medical attention on the first day of fever, noting that some patients who died were brought to health centers or hospitals only when their conditions had already progressed to severe stages.

Residents can get free consultations and dengue testing at any of the city’s nine district health centers, which have dengue NS1 test kits.

The NS1 test detects a dengue virus protein that circulates in the blood during the first days of infection, allowing diagnosis before the disease progresses.

Diaz said dengue may initially show up only as fever, including low-grade fever, without the other warning signs commonly associated with the disease.

She warned residents against waiting for bleeding symptoms, such as nosebleeds, bleeding gums, or vomiting blood, before seeking medical attention, as these may indicate advanced disease and complications.

Misting, barangay task forces

The CHO is also intensifying mosquito control through misting in affected barangays.

Diaz said the city’s sanitation division has already conducted its second round of routine misting across the city’s 180 barangays.

Barangays with reported dengue cases are prioritized, followed by their neighboring communities.

The CHO is also conducting intensive cleanups before misting, with priority given to the barangays where deaths have been recorded.

Barangay Dengue Task Forces and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams have also been activated to help identify residents with fever, encourage them to seek medical attention, and monitor reported cases.

Diaz also encouraged residents to protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved clothing and long pants, using insect repellents, installing screens on windows, and using mosquito nets.

She also advised residents to stay hydrated as part of the CHO’s expanded dengue prevention campaign, which adds a fifth S to the 4S strategy.

Diaz said the CHO does not generally recommend fogging because of its potential effects on people with respiratory conditions, although it may be considered during outbreaks or epidemics.

Against the national trend

The DOH recorded 217,625 dengue cases nationwide from Jan. 1 to Oct. 7, 19% fewer than the 269,172 cases logged during the same period in 2025.

The agency has, however, flagged 14 provinces and highly urbanized cities across 10 regions for rising infections in recent weeks.

In Iloilo province, the Provincial Health Office reported a 66% drop in dengue cases from Jan. 4 to April 4 compared with the same period in 2025.

Iloilo City was last placed under a state of calamity due to dengue in August 2024, when the CHO reported 945 cases and four deaths as of Aug. 27, with case clustering in 62 of the city’s 180 barangays.