Chikungunya cases up 382 percent in 2023 -- DOH

In this undated file photo provided by the USDA, an aedes aegypti mosquito is shown on human skin. Mosquito-borne chikungunya disease is not as deadly as dengue but both illnesses manifest similar symptoms: fever, rashes, headache, nausea, fatigue, and acute and long-term arthritis in several joints. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — Chikungunya cases in the Philippines spiked by 382 percent in 2023, data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed on Wednesday.

Based on the DOH’s epidemic-prone disease case surveillance report, 2,889 cases of the mosquito-borne viral infection were recorded in 2023, up from only 600 in 2022.

The World Health Organization said that chikungunya may cause fever, severe joint pain, joint swelling, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash.

Fifteen cases were recorded from November 25 to December 2 alone. 

The Cordillera Administrative Region had the most significant increase with 1,146 cases so far this year, from just four in 2022.

Mimaropa logged 465 cases from only nine in 2022, while cases in Cagayan Valley jumped to 394 cases this year from only two recorded cases last year.

Ilocos Region has 374 cases so far this year, followed by the Zamboanga Peninsula with 151 cases, and Northern Mindanao with 111 cases.

Notably, the Zamboanga Peninsula had zero cases of chikungunya in 2022.

According to DOH data, which were recorded from January 1 to December 2 this year, no patient has died due to the mosquito-transmitted disease.

Amid the increase of chikungunya cases in 2023, the DOH said that based on its most recent data, cases of the vector-borne disease are actually going down.

“While there have been a total of 2,928 Chikungunya cases reported, in the recent 3-4 weeks (November 19 to December 2, 2023) only 57 cases were reported, a 51 percent decrease from the 116 cases reported two weeks prior,” the health department said.

The DOH explained that chikungunya cases tend to increase during the rainy season, from June to September, and while 2023 saw an uptick in cases during those months, cases have since been decreasing.

The DOH said that symptoms of chikungunya may include fever, joint pain, joint swelling, rashes, headache, body aches, nausea, and fatigue.

These symptoms appear three to seven days after the patient is bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus.

Meanwhile, cases of dengue fever – also transmitted by mosquitoes – plummeted nationwide by 23 percent this year, with 195,603 cases logged so far,  from 252,700 in 2022.