MANILA, Philippines - Jogel Utanes never thought he already had dengue when he had high fever last week. He thought it was just ordinary fever. But when he was brought to the hospital, he was surprised to find out his platelet count was already down to 15.

The normal platelet count of a person is more than 200,000.

"Mahirap dahil pabalik-balik ang lagnat. Pag uminom ng gamot, isang oras lang babalik na naman," he said.

Utanes could not figure out where the dengue-carrying mosquito that bit him could have come from. His daily routine involves just going from the house to the office and back.

But he has a feeling the mosquito may have just been in the vicinity of his house in Taguig.

"Marami kasing mga sampay dun," said Utanes.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), though, dengue-carrying mosquitoes don't just live in 'sampayan.' They also breed in stagnant water.

And because it's rainy season already, it is possible that dengue cases may run up to more than the 20,000 cases already recorded by DOH from January to June this year. Of this number, 135 cases led to death.

This represents a 45% increase in dengue cases compared to the same period last year. About 13,000 dengue cases were reported in January to June 2009.

"Tataas pa yan lalo na pag tuloy-tuloy na ulan. Dadami ang pangingitlugan ng lamok," said Dr. Erick Tayag of the DOH.

The DOH is calling on the local government to help prevent the incidence of dengue cases in their respective areas.

To date, Quezon City has the most number of dengue cases.

The DOH advises the public to clean their surroundings, including plants, gardens, and canals, and get rid of stagnant water that collect in tires and other containers.

Fogging is not encouraged by DOH as this does not help much.

"Tinataboy lang ang lamok. Hindi sila namamatay. Gagastos lang kayo at makakasama pa sa kalusugan," said Tayag.

The DOH is also calling on the local government to make sure schools are kept clean so as not to endanger the health of school children. -- Report from Wheng Hidalgo, ABS-CBN News