DDengue seems to be more dangerous in Bohol during odd-ending years in this decade. Records obtained from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) for the last nine years reflected this unusual cycle. The PHO had issued a warning for residents not to take dengue for granted when the number of dengue deaths rose to seven last month. The figures were based on the monitoring conducted in hospitals based in Tagbilaran City and hospitals devolved to the province in the towns of Loon, Catigbian, Inabanga, Talibon, Carmen and Jagna. PHO figures showed four deaths in the month of July and three more in August as the total number of cases this year was placed at 379 as of last count. The PHO list did not identify the fatalities but simply identified their towns of origin namely Alicia, Calape, Dagohoy, Loon and Talibon. PHO records revealed that the number of dengue cases in August rose to 123, the highest in a month for this year. It was 24 more than the 99 reported cases in July. Except for April, the numbers have been steadily increasing since the PHO monitored four cases in January.

There were 13 cases in February, 25 in March, 20 in April, 31 in May and 59 in June. For September, five cases were reported as of Sept. 11. The 123 cases this year is the fourth highest for the month of August since 2000. There were 391 cases reported in 2007, 260 in 2005 and 170 in 2001. Records for the last nine years showed the mosquito-borne disease was more dangerous during odd number years with 2003 as the least fatal with only three. Five deaths were reported in 2001, 21 in 2005 and 16 in 2007. Counting the seven deaths this year, the total deaths due to dengue for the five odd-ending years is 52. In contrast, there were no deaths in 2000, two in 2002, five in 2004, three in 2006 and five in 2008 or only 15 in four even number years. Incidentally, the deaths reported in the towns of Alicia, Dagohoy and Loon were the first for these towns since 2000. Calape reported two fatalities in 2001 while Talibon had one case in 2006.