Dengue.

     As defined by the dictionary, is an acute infectious disease caused by a flavivirus, transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes, and is also one of the many killers of people living in any area that stagnant water is present.

     In the Philippines, many reported cases of dengue are recorded in the different regions starting from January 1 up to March 2 of 2019 that reaches a total of 40,614 cases. Topping the list with over 23,330 reported cases is the Region 6 – Western Visayas, second is the Region 4a – Calabarzon with over 16,515 cases of dengue. Third, Zamboanga with 12,317, Region 10 – Northern Mindanao with over 11,455 and lastly, the Region 12 with 11,083.

     With the significant increase of dengue cases throughout the country, 68% higher than last year, Local Government Units and the Department of Health have come up with ways to lessen the number of dengue patients by conducting a 4s campaign which comprises of search and destroy, secure self-protection method, seek for early consultation and support fogging every two consecutive weeks.

     People were strongly advised to be conscious with the cleanliness of their surroundings. Also, that they should dispose of any containers that can serve as a breeding place for mosquitoes such as tires that can be filled with rainwater and can become stagnant. LGUs strongly advice students to wear knee-high socks to prevent mosquitoes from inflicting diseases to them. Dengue patients also, were advised to have a lot of fluid intake.

     Symptoms of dengue can be easily identified. And those are: severe back pains, eye pain and headaches, high fever that may last longer than seven days, rashes, loss of appetite, vomiting, gum bleeding and low counts of platelets which normally reaches 150,000 up to 450,000 per micro-liter of blood.

     Dengue still has no certain cure that is why we must continue to clean our surroundings regularly and if ever you are experiencing the symptoms of dengue, don’t ever do self-medication and quickly see a doctor.