Dr. Ronald Jarvik Buscato, a DOH-7 dengue program coordinator, said these areas have already “exceeded the epidemic thresholds for the number of dengue cases” and that their local governments should declare an outbreak. The DOH-7 regional office based in Cebu City has sent out the notices and letters of recommendation to the concerned towns and cities. Majority of the cases in the region were in Cebu City with 390 cases, including three deaths. With the spike of dengue cases, Buscato said the DOH-7 was in the process of integrating the campaign against measles and dengue for the region. The last dengue epidemic in Central Visayas was in 2016 and it started in April, he added.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 15, 2019 03:22 UTC