PAGADIAN CITY: Zamboanga del Sur was recently placed by the Department of Health (DoH) provincial office under a state of calamity after its dengue cases rose by 231 percent for the past seven months this year even as its mortality rate rose from eight percent to 21 percent this year.

Dr. Dahlia Aseniero, health education promotion officer (HEPO) of the Integrated Provincial Health Unit, recently disclosed that ̋local dengue cases from June to December totaled 2,755 cases against 799 in 2018 or an increase of 231 percent.