The Cook Islands secretary of health, Josephine Herman, said the country is holding and containing the latest outbreak of dengue.

Photo: lamyai/123RF

She saids to date there are 50 cases of type 1 dengue in the Cooks.

Of these, 22 people have had the virus confirmed after analysis in New Zealand, and the remaining 28 have been identified as likely to have dengue after clinical diagnosis, Dr Herman said.

She also said that while health authorities anticipate more victims, extensive efforts are being made to ensure the spread is minimised. </s> FILE – In this April 30, 2019 file photo, Philippine Health Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque III displays a graph showing the decline of the measles outbreak in the country during a press conference during World Immunization Week 2019 in Manila, Philippines. The Philippines’ Department of Health has declared the country’s massive outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic on Tuesday Aug. 6, 2019. An announcement from the agency says Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration in order to improve responses to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ Department of Health on Tuesday declared the country’s outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic.

The agency said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration to improve the response to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund.

It said the Philippines recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through July 20 this year, 98% more than the same period in 2018. It said the outbreak caused 622 deaths.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

The Department of Health said that starting Tuesday, it was conducting a campaign to focus on finding and destroying mosquito breeding sites, which is a primary means of containing dengue. Other government agencies, local government units, schools, offices and communities will join in the effort, it said.

Other Southeast Asian countries have also reported an upsurge in dengue cases this year, according to the U.N.’s World Health Organization. The organization said Malaysia had registered 62,421 cases through June 29, including 93 deaths, compared to 32,425 cases with 53 deaths for the same period last year. Vietnam over the same period had 81,132 cases with four deaths reported, compared to 26,201 cases including six deaths in 2018.

In South Asia, Bangladesh has been facing its worst-ever dengue fever outbreak, putting a severe strain on the country’s already overwhelmed medical system. </s> The Philippine government has declared the country’s outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic, following the deaths of at least 622 patients since January.

The country’s health department announced late on Tuesday that Francisco Duque III, the health secretary, made the declaration to improve the response to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund.

It said the Philippines recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through July 20 this year, 98% more than the same period in 2018. That is roughly 5,036 cases every week.

Among the worst-hit areas are central Philippines as well as some regions in the northern island of Luzon and the southern island of Mindanao.

Duque said a campaign is being launched focusing on the destruction of mosquito breeding sites.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems, haemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases.

While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

The department of health said that starting on Tuesday, it was conducting a campaign to focus on finding and destroying mosquito breeding sites, which is a primary means of containing dengue.

Other government agencies, local government units, schools, offices and communities will join in the effort, it said.

In 2017, the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte banned the dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, after its French manufacturer reported that it could cause severe effects on patients not previously exposed to the virus.

Some critics have blamed the decision for the current outbreak, but Duque, the health secretary, said that the World Health Organization did not recommend the use of the vaccine as an outbreak response.

Other Southeast Asian countries have also reported an upsurge in dengue cases this year, according to the UN’s WHO.

The organisation said Malaysia had registered 62,421 cases through June 29, including 93 deaths, compared to 32,425 cases with 53 deaths for the same period last year.

Vietnam over the same period had 81,132 cases with four deaths reported, compared to 26,201 cases including six deaths in 2018.

In South Asia, Bangladesh has been facing its worst-ever dengue fever outbreak, putting a severe strain on the country’s already overwhelmed medical system.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android. </s> (MANILA, Philippines) — The Philippines’ Department of Health on Tuesday declared the country’s outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic.

The agency said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III made the declaration to improve the response to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund.

It said the Philippines recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through July 20 this year, 98% more than the same period in 2018. It said the outbreak caused 622 deaths.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems, hemorrhaging and organ failure in severe cases. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person’s fluid levels is seen as critical.

The Department of Health said that starting Tuesday, it was conducting a campaign to focus on finding and destroying mosquito breeding sites, which is a primary means of containing dengue. Other government agencies, local government units, schools, offices and communities will join in the effort, it said.

Other Southeast Asian countries have also reported an upsurge in dengue cases this year, according to the U.N.’s World Health Organization. The organization said Malaysia had registered 62,421 cases through June 29, including 93 deaths, compared to 32,425 cases with 53 deaths for the same period last year. Vietnam over the same period had 81,132 cases with four deaths reported, compared to 26,201 cases including six deaths in 2018.

In South Asia, Bangladesh has been facing its worst-ever dengue fever outbreak, putting a severe strain on the country’s already overwhelmed medical system. </s> – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) has declared the country’s outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic in the wake of 146,062 cases recorded from January to July 20 this year.The declaration was made by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on August 6, shortly after a plenary meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).Duque said the reported cases are 98 percent higher than the same period last year. Of the cases, 622 were confirmed death.Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, as NDRRMC chair, issued a memorandum to all disaster response units across the country for the strict implementation of the national dengue epidemic declaration.According to a DOH report, Western Visayas has the biggest number of cases at 23,330. Seven out of the 17 regions have exceeded the epidemic threshold of dengue for the past three consecutive weeks.Duque said the total number of cases nationwide for a week alone, from July 14 to 20, is at 10,502, or 71 percent higher compared to the same period in 2018.The Philippines has stood firm on its ban on the world’s first and only licensed dengue vaccine Dengvaxia made by French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur, following the deaths of dozens of children who were among the more than 700,000 people given shots in 2016 and 2017 in a government immunisation campaign.In 2016, the country became the first in Asia to approve the use of Dengvaxia, but a year later, the vaccine was banned after Sanofi Pasteur announced that in rare cases, vaccinating people with no prior history of dengue infection could lead them to develop a more severe form of the disease.–VNA </s> This post was originally published on this site

WORLD NEWS Dengue epidemic declared in Philippines, over 600 dead and nearly 150,000 cases this year https://linewsradio.com/dengue-epidemic-declared-in-philippines-over-600-dead-and-nearly-150000-cases-this-year/ http://abcnewsradioonline.com/world-news/rss.xml

LoveSilhouette/iStock(NEW YORK) — A dengue epidemic has been declared in the Philippines in the wake of more than 600 deaths and over 146,000 cases of the disease having been recorded in 2019 alone – a 98 percent increase from the previous year.

Dengue – one of the fastest-spreading mosquito-borne diseases in the world – has increased 30-fold in the past 50 years, according to information from the World Health Organization released in June.

“It is important that a national epidemic be declared in these areas to identify where a localized response is needed, and to enable the local government units to use their Quick Response Fund to address the epidemic situation” said Philippines Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III.

Several other countries in the Western Pacific region such as Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam have been dealing with an increase in dengue cases and deaths this year, according to the WHO.

The Philippines, however — where there have been 622 deaths and 146,062 cases on record — has surpassed those other countries.

According to the most recent data there, there were 10,502 new cases in the week of July 14 to 20, a 71 percent increase from the same week in 2018.

“Starting today, the Department of Health together with other government agencies … schools, offices, and communities will … focus on search and destroy of mosquito breeding sites,” the country’s department of health said in a statement announcing the epidemic. “This is one of the primary interventions to prevent and control dengue.”

The WHO says that it is imperative to act early to save lives.

“There is no specific treatment for dengue but early detection, improved clinical management and access to proper medical care for severe dengue can reduce fatality rates”, the organizations said in a statement.

“WHO is working closely with the Philippines and other countries across the region to address dengue,” said Olivia Law Davies, the organization’s regional communications manager. “WHO doesn’t designate an outbreak as being at a national level.”

It was only at the end last month when Duque, the Philippines’ health secretary, and the Department of Health released a statement sounding hopeful that they could contain the epidemic.

“There is an outpouring of support from our health partners, especially the Philippine Red Cross, other government agencies, and the members of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council. We are extremely grateful for their urgent response … and with our concerted efforts we hope to be able to quell this dengue outbreak.”

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, said the biggest concern is the rate of people dying, “especially children.”

“This is a signal that we need to work with countries to strengthen care as well as prevention,” Kasai said. </s> Manila: The Philippines' Department of Health has declared the country's outbreak of dengue to be a national epidemic.

The agency said Health Secretary Francisco Duque made the declaration to improve the response to the outbreak by allowing local governments to draw on a special Quick Response Fund.

It said the country recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from January through July 20 this year, 98 per cent more than the same period in 2018. It said the outbreak caused 622 deaths.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection found in tropical countries worldwide. It can cause joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, and can cause breathing problems. A severe strain can cause haemorrhaging and organ failure. While there is no specific treatment for the illness, medical care to maintain a person's fluid levels is seen as critical. </s> July 16 (UPI) -- More than 450 people have died in the Philippines of dengue, a viral disease that has affected a region of more than 20 million people.

Philippine health authorities this week issued a "national dengue alert" as cases have nearly doubled from same time last year, CNN reported Tuesday.

About 100,000 dengue cases have been reported in the Philippines in the first six months of 2019, up 85 percent from 2018, according to the report.

Regions affected include Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao, regions home to 20 percent of the country's population.

Dengue induces fever in patients, and is a mosquito-borne viral infection. The disease includes symptoms similar to the flu: painful headaches, muscle and joint pain and full body rashes.

The World Health Organization says about half a million people, out of the "millions" infected with dengue worldwide, require hospitalization. About 12,500 people die annually from the disease.

Climate change could be responsible for the rise in dengue cases in countries like the Philippines, India and Brazil.

In addition to dengue, diseases like chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika have moved north as temperatures rise in the southern United States, inland Australia and coastal China and Japan, according to CNN.

Rappler reported the national alert in the Philippines came on Monday. Other regions, including Muslim Mindanao have been designated as regions that have exceeded the alert threshold. </s> The Department of Health (DOH) today requested the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chair Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana to convene a full council meeting and declared a national dengue epidemic in the wake of the 146,062 cases recorded since January up to July 20 this year, 98% higher than the same period in 2018. There were 622 deaths.

Based on the DOH Dengue Surveillance Report, Region VI (Western Visayas) had the most number of cases at 23,330, followed by Region IV-A (CALABARZON) with 16,515, Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) with 12,317, Region X (Northern Mindanao) with 11,455, and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) with 11,083 cases.

“It is important that a national epidemic be declared in these area to identify where a localized response is needed, and to enable the local government units to use their Quick Response Fund to address the epidemic situation.” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III stressed.

Meanwhile, seven (7) out of these seventeen (17) regions have exceeded the epidemic threshold of dengue in their regions for the past three consecutive weeks. These regions are: Region IV-A (CALABARZON) with 16,515 cases; MIMAROPA – 4,254; V (Bicol) with 3,470; VI (Western Visayas) with 23,330; VIII (Eastern Visayas) with 7,199; IX (Zamboanga Peninisula) with 12, 317; and X (Northern Mindanao) with 11,455 cases.

Other regions exceeded the alert threshold level, such as Region I (Ilocos) with 4,396 cases; VII (Central Visayas) with 10,728; and BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) with 2,301.

The total number of cases nationwide for the 29th Morbidity Week alone (July 14-20) is 10,502. This is 71% higher compared to the same period in 2018 (6,128 cases).

Starting today, the Department of Health together with other government agencies, LGUs, schools, offices, and communities will conduct the _Sabayang 4-O’clock Habit para Deng-Get Out, _focusing on search and destroy of mosquito breeding sites. This is one of the primary interventions to prevent and control dengue.
The Cook Islands secretary of health, Josephine Herman, says that the country is holding and containing the latest outbreak of Dengue, which has killed 22 people and infected another 28.