Iloilo to declare province-wide dengue outbreak

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) has reported a significant surge in dengue cases, with 3,608 cases, including six deaths, recorded from January 1 to August 3, 2024.

The sharp increase, which includes 661 new cases reported during the week of July 28 to August 3, has alarmed provincial health authorities.

“On August 8, during a meeting with the Civil Defense Cluster convened by Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., data from the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) revealed that 36 municipalities out of 43 in the province have breached both the alert and epidemic thresholds. Consequently, we are planning to declare an outbreak and have already submitted the necessary report to the Department of Health (DOH) to facilitate the declaration of a province-wide outbreak,” Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Head Dr. Maria Socorro Quiñon said in a statement on August 9.

She reported that Passi City is currently the most affected area, followed closely by the municipalities of Dingle, Lambunao, Oton, Dumangas, Calinog, Badiangan, Janiuay, Barotac Nuevo, and Miagao.

Dr. Quiñon further highlighted that, as of Morbidity Week 31, 190 barangays across the province have reported clusters of dengue cases, compared to only 142 barangays in the previous week.

Passi City remains the hardest hit, with 16 barangays experiencing clusters of cases, followed by Dumangas with 11 barangays and Dingle with 9.

“Breaching the alert threshold indicates a level of disease occurrence that serves as an early warning for a potential epidemic, while the epidemic threshold signifies a level of occurrence that necessitates an urgent response,” Dr. Quiñon explained.

In light of these developments, provincial officials are working closely with local government units (LGUs), health offices, and disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) teams to implement a comprehensive, society-wide approach to combat the spread of dengue.

“Given that we have exceeded these thresholds, we conducted the meeting with respective agencies. A whole-of-society approach is now required as the situation necessitates an urgent response,” she remarked.

The IPHO has already submitted an IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) report to the Department of Health (DOH), detailing the current dengue situation in the province. They are now awaiting further instructions from the DOH.

Dr. Quiñon clarified that the decision to declare a state of calamity is not within their authority.