by Jemin B. Guillermo

Roxas City (12 February) -- Capiz registered more than 400 cases of dengue last year, says the Provincial Health Office (PHO) here.

Based on the data recorded by PHO in Capiz, a total of 414 dengue cases with five deaths were recorded from January to December 2007.

Provincial Sanitary Inspector Jane delos Reyes said that said report covers those from the 16 towns and Roxas City, but noted that the sentinel report for December last year from Capiz Emmanuel Hospital in Roxas City was not included.

Delos Reyes revealed that there is an 86.7 percent increase in the number of dengue cases last year compared to the 55 cases recorded in 2006.

She added that in a ten-year period, the highest number of cases registered at 683 was recorded in 1988, followed by 611 cases in 2002 and 414 cases in 2007.

It was in 1999 where the province registered only 26 cases, followed by 47 in 2007 and 55 cases in 2006, she said.

Based on last year's data, most of the victims of the day-biting dengue carrying mosquitoes were one year old to 19 years old, followed by those belonging to 20 to 29 years old bracket, delos Reyes said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has already appealed to local government officials to expand their search and destroy and operations in all areas where dengue mosquito can breed and thrive.

Duque stressed that dengue is already a year-round threat because of rising temperatures and the unpredictable weather that brings in the rain in the normally dry and warm months of the year.