In the midst of the declaration of a “national dengue epidemic” by the Department of Health (DOH), the Provincial Health Office reassured that Palawan province is still not covered by the declaration.
In an interview with Palawan Daily News, Provincial Health Office Epidemiologist Dr. Lorna Loor said that while dengue cases are still high, the total is still lower than the epidemic threshold.
“Kung kukuwentahin natin yung epidemic threshold against sa mga last year, hindi pa naman natin naaabot yung epidemic threshold.”, Dr. Loor said. (If we compute the epidemic threshold against last years’ [threshold], we still haven’t breached it yet.)
There are currently 1,626 confirmed dengue cases in Palawan for the first half of 2019. Fortunately, the remote municipality of Kalayaan has yet to confirm any dengue case.
Meanwhile, the City Health Office also excluded Puerto Princesa from the national dengue epidemic.
There are 487 confirmed dengue cases for the first half of the year, which is also below the epidemic threshold, according to Dr. Kent Ventura of the City Health Office.
In light of the national dengue epidemic, President Duterte today has expressed openness to the reintroduction of the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia in the Philippines, but he emphasized that he will first consult with local health experts before reintroducing the vaccine to the Philippine market.