(PNA file photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA – The weekly cases of leptospirosis this year are higher than the previous five years except in 2019, with the country logging 2,560 infections from Jan. 1-Nov. 2, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.
In an online forum, Department of Health-Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea de Guzman noted that the latest tally translates to a 66 percent increase from 1,546 cases in the same period last year.
A total of 3,454 deaths due to leptospirosis, which peaks during the rainy season, were reported nationwide. About 13 percent or 337 of the cases are adults ages 25 to 29 years old and around 88 percent or 2,260 are males.
“Sa ngayon, after ng peak nitong mga Agosto, nakikita natin na pababa ‘yung mga kaso pero titingnan natin usually hindi naman national no. Nakakita tayo ng biglaang pagtaas nito nationally, posibleng ang leptospirosis cases natin ay sa selected areas lamang kung saan nagkaroon ng pagbagyo o pagbaha (After the peak [of cases] this August, leptospirosis cases are on a downtrend and we don’t see a sudden increase nationally, only in places of typhoon and floods)," de Guzman said.
In 2018, increased leptospirosis cases were reported in the National Capital Region in August following heavy rains.
Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have reached the epidemic threshold for the past four morbidity weeks.
Positive growth rates in the recent three to four weeks were seen in the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Laguna, Rizal, Cebu, Bukidnon, and the cities of Davao, Caloocan, Pasay, and Valenzuela. (PNA)
