Dengue: Philippines declares national epidemic as cases surge across South East Asia

The government of the Philippines has declared a national epidemic of dengue fever for the first time this century, as the number of infections surged to twice last year’s toll, killing 622 people, many of them young children.

The country recorded 146 062 dengue cases from January to 20 July this year, 98% more than in the same period in 2018.

The health secretary, Francisco Duque, told a press conference on 7 August that his ministry was now recording more than 5000 new cases a week. “This is really staggering,” he said. “This is going to be a record number.”

Two years ago the Philippines banned Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia,1 the …