The city government of Zamboanga declared on Friday a dengue outbreak with 893 cases and 11 deaths as of April 2.
This includes the 85 dengue cases reported for morbidity in week 13 by the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, which is 963% higher compared to the same period in 2021, and 257% higher than the average of 24 cases from 2017 to 2021 in the same period.
"The city already exceeded epidemic thresholds for four consecutive morbidity weeks," said City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit chief Dr. Ivy Iturralde during a City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) meeting.
The dengue incidence rate per 100,000 individuals is 99.64, with Boalan, Divisoria, Mercedes, Pasobolong, and Culianan reporting the highest incidence rate per 10,000 people.
Other cities that also reported dengue cases include Zambowood, Sta. Barbara, Putik, Sta. Maria, and San Roque, according to the city government.
In addition, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine confirmed 15 positive results for dengue serotype 1 and one positive result for dengue serotype 4.
Following the development, the CDRRMC in an emergency meeting approved a resolution declaring a dengue outbreak in Zamboanga City.
A copy of the resolution will be forwarded to Mayor Beng Climaco, who will issue an Executive Order to formalize the declaration.
In the meantime, Climaco has directed the reactivation of the dengue preparedness plan and task force based on the 2019 dengue outbreak response.
This is the third time in the last 10 years that a dengue outbreak has been declared in Zamboanga City, with the latest reported three years ago which was a nationwide outbreak.
