Chioma Umeha
A top government health official on Friday sounded
the alarm over the rising number of deaths arising from a flood-borne disease
called leptospirosis that already claimed the lives of 99 Filipinos as of June,
the Gulftiday.ae has reported.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the 99
fatalities came from the total 1,030 leptospirosis cases reported nationwide
from January to June this year and represented a 41 percent increase from the
total recorded for the same period in 2017.
Duque attributed the surge in the cases nationwide
to floods due to weeks of unabated heavy rain as well as the huge piles of
uncollected garbage not only in Metro Manila but also in the country’s big
towns and cities.
“The 41 percent increase…compared to the same
period last year is a cause for alarm,” Duque said, explaining the disease is
incurred mainly by people wading into floodwaters carrying the bacteria from
wastes and urine from animals, particularly rats.
“But we don’t see much of a problem because our
(government) hospitals are capable of of managing the cases,” he assured,
adding the disease carries symptoms similar to those of flu like high fever,
body ache and diarrhea.
Metro Manila, composed of 15 towns and cities with
a total population of close to 12 million, accounted for nine of the 99
leptospirosis deaths reported in June, with the other regions also suffering a
surge in cases in the other regions like Caraga, Zamboanga Peninsula and Davao
in Mindanao as well as Western Visayas, according to Duque.
Dr. Rose Marie Liquete, the chief of the state-run
National Kidney and Transplant Institute based in suburban Quezon City, Metro
Manila confirmed Duque’s statement as she revealed that they were forced to
convert their gymnasium into an “emergency ward” to accommodate the rising
number of leptospirosis patients.
Health experts warned that a person afflicted with
even simple skin abrasion can be infected by the leptospirosis bacteria by
wading unprotected into the floodwaters like failing to wear rubber boots.
Experts also suggested that people who have done
so could help prevent from incurring the disease by thorough washing of their
feet with soap and water
State weathermen reported that in June alone, many
parts of the country including Metro Manila went under water due to the monsoon
season as well as weather disturbances that brought unabated heavy rains,
especially to low-lying areas.
