Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa 鈥擬ALACA脩ANG FILE PHOTO
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday allayed fears of a surge in respiratory illnesses in the country and assured the health-care system is ready should there be a sudden rise in such infections.
鈥淚 want to tell the people: Don鈥檛 be worried. We鈥檙e doing our own surveillance. In the Philippines, there鈥檚 been no reported rise of respiratory illnesses,鈥� Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said.
He added hospitals are ready and capable to detect any looming increase.
鈥淲e can activate immediately, the same way we activated [them] during the COVID-19 [pandemic],鈥� he said.
Lower infections
Based on the latest DOH data, the country logged lower influenza-like illness (ILI) infections with 10,242 cases reported in the past month. This was a 20-percent decrease from the past two weeks.
However, overall ILI cases in the country stood at 182,721 from Jan. 1 to Nov. 11 this year. The number is 51 percent higher than the 121,160 cases reported in the same period in 2022.
The health department, however, noted the ILI infections are 鈥渆xpected to rise again by the start of January.鈥�
Herbosa urged the public to practice 鈥渃ough etiquette鈥� and 鈥渟tay at home鈥� if experiencing flu-like symptoms.
搁贰础顿:听DOH: Pneumonia cases up, better keep mask on
Clusters of illnesses
The health chief issued this reminder following the reported clusters of respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, in northern China.
Citing the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOH said 鈥渘o unusual or novel new pathogens and no changes in disease presentation were observed鈥� in the reported cases in China.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was able to meet with Chinese health officials through a teleconference.
The requested data indicated 鈥渁n increase in outpatient consultations and hospital admissions of children due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae since May, and respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus and influenza virus since October.鈥�
Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common bacterial infection that typically affects the younger population.
鈥淕iven these findings, WHO recommended that general preventive measures against respiratory illness should be practiced, but no specific measures for travelers and border controls are recommended at this time,鈥� the DOH said.