MANILA, Philippines—Dengue fever has killed at least 491 people, mostly children, throughout the Philippines in the first seven months of 2019, the figures showing why the Department of Health (DOH) declared a national health emergency to raise concern over the spread of the killer mosquito-borne disease. ADVERTISEMENTRecent DOH data showed that the number of dengue cases nationwide spiked by 22 percent to 5,744 from June 30 to July 6, 2019 from 4,703 cases reported in the same period in 2018. The DOH also reported that 115,986 cases of dengue had been reported from Jan 1-July 6, 2019 or nearly double the number of cases—62,267–in the same period in 2018. Health Secretary Feancisco Duque, on Monday (July 15), declared a national health emergency amid a sharp spike in the number of dengue cases. Female aedes egypti mosquitoes are the main carriers of the dengue virus, which is transmitted by mosquito bites./tsbREAD: DOH declares national dengue alertADVERTISEMENTRead NextLATEST STORIESMOST READ

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 20, 2019 09:56 UTC