PUBLIC ALERT VS. DISEASES. Jethro Simeon of the Department of Health Cordillera’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit says on Friday (Sept. 15, 2023) that five of the six notifiable diseases related to insect and animal bites and water-borne diseases have increased in number since January this year. Aside from dengue which registered a drop in cases, he urged the public to protect themselves from acute bloody diarrhea, typhoid fever, chikungunya, leptospirosis, and influenza. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Health in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CAR) has once more reminded the public Friday to be cautious about their health, particularly on five of six prevalent diseases in the area.
“Watch your health, always take care of yourself, and avoid any illness,” said Jethro Simeon of the DOH-CAR’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) in a press briefing.
Currently, he said their office recorded an increase in five notifiable diseases that are caused by water-borne or insect and animal bites that the DOH is monitoring closely.
Notifiable diseases are of public interest due to being contagious, severe, or frequent.
Across the region, Simeon said they recorded a 42 percent increase in cases of acute bloody diarrhea from January 1 to September 11 with 902 incidents compared to 636 in the same period in 2022.
Typhoid fever also logged a one percent increase with 2,065 cases in 2023 as against 2,037 cases in 2022.
Chikungunya, meanwhile, tallied a 441 percent increase from two cases in 2022 to 884 cases in 2023.
Likewise, leptospirosis recorded a 77 percent increase from only 74 cases in 2022 to 131 cases in 2023. There were also 10 deaths recorded in 2023 which is an increase from the six deaths in 2022.
Influenza-like illness also recorded a 38 percent increase with 4,023 cases in 2023 compared to the 2,923 cases in 2022.
“It is only dengue where we recorded a decrease in cases, at 64 percent or only 4,207 cases this year, dropping from the 11,598 cases last year,” he said.
Simeon urged the public to always follow public health guidelines, monitor signs of illnesses, and ensure the timely reporting of cases by seeking medical attention when the symptoms persist.
He added that environmental sanitation is also necessary to prevent mosquitoes and rodents from thriving and breeding which causes illnesses like dengue.
“The continuing rains that we experienced contributed to the increase in cases,” Simeon said.
He noted that there was a drop in dengue cases in the region because of the immediate response of the local government units to the “4S” strategy – search and destroy mosquito breeding places; seek early consultation from health experts; secure self-protection; support fogging or spraying operations. (PNA)
