At least 114 people have died of dengue in the Philippines this year, Xinhua quoted the country's Department of Health as saying today. Dengue cases, from Jan. 1 to May 3, hit 10,841, 35.6 percent higher than the 7,992 cases recorded during the same period last year, according to a surveillance conducted by the National Epidemiology Center, an attached agency of the Department of Health. Deaths due to dengue climbed to 114, up by 24 deaths as against the 90 casualties registered during the same period last year, the report said. Based on the report, most of the dengue victims are from the National Capital Region of Metro Manila with 2,839 cases tallied. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has already imposed a year-long program to combat dengue. Earlier, Duque said that conducting a "search and destroy" operation is inexpensive and will only require the demolition of all possible mosquito breeding grounds.
