By CESAR JOLITO III

A two-year-old girl from Bacolod City’s Barangay Mandalagan became the latest fatality from dengue fever, bringing the city’s death toll to six since January, according to the City Health Office (CHO).

The CHO confirmed yesterday that the child succumbed to the mosquito-borne disease earlier this month.

Previous deaths this year include a 64-year-old man from Barangay Alijis, a 42-year-old woman from Mansilingan, and four children aged four to six from Handumanan, Vista Alegre and Villamonte.

From January 1 to September 6, Bacolod logged 811 dengue cases — down from 1,406 cases and three deaths during the same period in 2024.

Most patients are children and teenagers, with 580 cases recorded among those under 19 years old, including 349 in the one-to-10 age group and 15 infants less than a year old.

Mansilingan currently tops the list with 86 cases, followed by Taculing (65), Estefania (51), Vista Alegre (50), Tangub (49), Alijis (43), Villamonte (41), Mandalagan (41), and both Sum-ag and Singcang-Airport with 36 each.

The CHO said it is intensifying anti-dengue operations, including cleanup drives, larvicide treatment, and public information campaigns.

It urged Bacolod residents to regularly eliminate stagnant water, use mosquito repellents, and seek early medical attention at the first signs of fever.

Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

Its symptoms include sudden high-grade fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, and rashes.

The Department of Health warned that when fever subsides after four to five days, warning signs such as bleeding gums, abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, and dark stools may follow — an indication of possible severe dengue./CJ, WDJ