Baguio City logs record high over 5,500 dengue cases, deaths climb to 12

BAGUIO CITY — Deaths due to dengue fever in Baguio City rose from seven to 12, even as cases continued to decline albeit reaching unprecedented levels.

Most of the fatalities were already on severe stage when they sought consultation while the adult victims had comorbidities, the Baguio City Health Services office said.

Physician Donnabel Panes, head of the City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit, said the number of dengue cases decreased starting middle of May though its number remained record-breaking.

The city logged a total of 5,505 dengue cases as of Aug. 22, 2024, the highest in the city’s history, compared to last year’s 645. This is equivalent to 753% increase.

In a meeting of the Baguio City Anti-Dengue Task Force last August 16, two factors were identified contributing to the case and death rates. These are the failure to implement preventive measures within the households like the destruction of mosquito breeding places despite full awareness and the failure to seek early consultation which could have prevented the deaths.

“The problem is really behavioral and it is disheartening because upon the conduct of follow-up of cases. We still find mosquito-breeding places despite having a patient and despite having already known that these must be gotten rid of. We conduct 'denguerra' in the barangay level but we cannot anymore clean the insides of your houses for you,” a health worker lamented.  

Baguio's battle against dengue fever is dubbed “denguerra”.

“We really have to do something to improve our search and destroy early health seeking behavior,” the health worker added.

The Sanitation Division of the City Health Services of Baguio which is working with the community in the implementation of the anti-dengue measures said they have operated in at least ten barangays where they also checked compliance with the city’s Anti-Dengue Ordinance (Ordinance 66-2016).

Sanitation Inspector Miller Balisongen said a total of 241 households were found to have violated the provisions of the ordinance in said barangays and they have coordinated with their barangay officials for the rendering of community service for their penalty on first offense.

Last June, Baguio Mayor