Infectious disease cases up

“Cases of diphtheria and other infectious diseases are being monitored by the Epidemiology Bureau regularly,” DoH said. #infectiousdisease

The Department of Health (DoH) on Thursday announced that the 167 cases of infectious diseases reported from January to September this year, including 40 deaths, is higher compared to last year’s number.

There were 122 cases of infectious diseases with 30 deaths in the same period in 2018, the DoH said in a statement.

The DoH said the reasons behind the increase in infectious diseases cases are still being investigated.

Meanwhile, the DoH said it is not yet confirmed if a 10-year-old student in Manila recently died from diphtheria,.

“No. Confirmatory test still pending at Research Institute for Tropical Medicine,” Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said in a previous interview.

The Health department also said that aside from vaccine, the anti-toxin to counter diphtheria is available in the country, through the assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Antibiotics for diphtheria, namely penicillin, erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin are locally and commercially available,” said the DoH, adding that due to the threat of these infectious diseases, the agency now urges parents to ensure that their children were administered with complete dose of all recommended vaccines in their first year of life.

Aside from measles and poliomyelitis, DoH said the public should also protect infants and young children from other diseases like diphtheria, pertussis (or whooping cough), and tetanus through immunization.

“Cases of diphtheria and other infectious diseases are being monitored by the Epidemiology Bureau regularly,” DoH said.

The country’s health agency is currently on a massive vaccination campaign called Back to bakUna (Una sa Lahat ang Bakuna), which aims “to call on local chief executives, local government health workers, other health professionals, and civil society groups to work together to reach every child and ensure that they receive the vaccines on time.”