TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Health regional office here reported that dengue fever has already claimed the lives of 17 people in Eastern Visayas while 6,097 patients were sent to hospitals during the first 11 months of the year, up by 685.77 percent compared to the same period last year.

DoH Eastern Visayas regional director Exuperia Sabalberino disclosed that most of the cases this year were recorded in Southern Leyte due to the impacts of typhoon "Odette" that battered the province in late 2021.

"The increase is caused by the strong typhoon. Damaged houses and fallen trees become breeding sites of mosquitoes. The situation is now controlled," Sabalberino said in an online interview.

The number of cases this year is nearly seven times higher compared to the same period in 2021 with only 775 cases. No fatality was recorded due to dengue fever in the region last year.

The DoH said that the deaths were recorded in Ormoc City, Palo and Jaro in Leyte province; Taft, Borongan City and Hernani in Eastern Samar; and Maasin City, Liloan, Padre Burgos, Saint Bernard and San Juan in Southern Leyte.

In the past three weeks, new deaths were reported in Palo, Leyte and Borongan City in Eastern Samar.

Of the 6,097 patients, 2,595 were logged in Leyte province, 1,454 in Southern Leyte, 625 in Samar, 575 in Eastern Samar, 548 in Biliran and 300 in Northern Samar.

The DoH said eight villages in Ormoc City, Tacloban City, Leyte, Northern Samar and Southern Leyte provinces have a clustering of cases or have three to four infected in the past four weeks.

"The DoH has strengthened its surveillance, health promotion, education and advocacy activities and has conducted meetings with local governments and other partner agencies in order to mitigate the further increase of cases and deaths caused by dengue," Sabalberino said.

Dengue fever is marked by the onset of sudden high fever, severe headache, and pain behind the eyes, muscles, and joints. Some may develop rashes and varying degrees of bleeding in different parts of the body.