Agusan del Sur logs 20 dengue deaths as infections keep rising

SAN FRANCISCO, AGUSAN DEL SUR, Philippines — Some 20 people have died from mosquito-borne dengue infection in Agusan del Sur province in the last 10 months, with the number of cases continuing to rise in the past five weeks.

The last two deaths happened between Tuesday and Wednesday this week. From only 14 deaths as of Oct. 1, the fatalities climbed to 20 with the addition of six deaths in five weeks, data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed.

As of Nov. 1, the PHO recorded 3,379 total infections, up 200 cases from a week ago. The current level is more than 16 times the total cases recorded during the first half of the year at only 206.

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The total infections began to rise in July, and more than tripled by Aug. 8, to 674.

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READ: Dengue, leptospirosis cases decline in latest DOH report

Since then, the count of new infections kept rising, climbing steeply to 2,018 by Sept. 26, or an average of 192 cases per week. 

In the five weeks from Sept. 29 to Nov. 1, total cases further climbed to 3,379, or an average of 272 cases per week. The highest increase was from Oct. 12 to Oct. 18, at 300 cases.

READ: Dengue deaths rise to 36 despite drop in total cases in Negros region

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Bayugan City bears the heaviest sorrow with seven fatalities, trailed closely by Rosario with five. Bunawan, Loreto, and San Francisco have each mourned two deaths, while Trento and Prosperidad have registered one victim apiece.

Those who died were aged three to 52. 

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Among those infected, a fifth are school children between 10 to 14 years old.

The dengue crisis is acute in the municipality of Rosario, considered the ground zero of the outbreak, registering 751 infections so far, or an attack rate of 14 cases per 1,000 residents.

Others with sizable caseloads are the towns of San Francisco, Loreto and Bunawan, and Bayugan City.

In response to the provincial outbreak declaration, local governments and health networks have mounted an aggressive fight against the disease, mobilizing neighborhoods for active case finding drives and bringing diagnostic labs directly to the grassroots communities. 

Medical workers are conducting door-to-door screenings and on-site rapid antigen testing, hunting down early signs of infection before plasma leakages and hemorrhages turn fatal.

In Bayugan, City Health Officer Jeanne Elevazo took to the streets with frontline medical teams in Barangay Taglatawan, deploying rapid diagnostic kits directly inside households to isolate cases early.

The battle also involved classrooms to guard children who spend their daytime in mosquito-prone environments. The PHO gathered elementary and high school teachers and personnel across the province for hands-on vector control training. Equipped with knowledge and gear, campus staff now operate misting equipment inside hallways and classrooms to eliminate adult mosquitoes where learners congregate.

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Rural and primary health care facilities have handled 859 patients so far for initial medical consultations, 676 of whom were brought to Democrito O. Plaza Memorial Hospital for admission, according to the PHO report. /cb