DoH: Sorsogon ‘malaria and filariasis-free’
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 15:38:00 07/23/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- After more than half a century, the Department of Health (DoH) declared Sorsogon province "malaria and filariasis free" on Thursday, Bicol health officials said.
It was a milestone to finally declare the province free of the two infectious diseases, Doctor Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol regional health director, said.
The province has had cases of malaria and filariasis as early as the 1950s and was only finally declared free of them this year, Dr. Alan Lucañas, infectious disease coordinator of the DoH in Bicol, said.
Representatives from the DoH central office in Manila went to Sorsogon for the declaration.
According to the DoH website, malaria is a disease caused by protozoan parasites called Plasmodium. It is usually transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
Its symptoms are chills, fever, too much sweating when the fever subsides, and headache.
Filariasis, which is commonly known as “elephantiasis” because the victim’s legs and arms would swell to a size like those of an elephant’s, is a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes.
Its symptoms are pain and swelling of the breast, vagina, scrotum, legs, and arms; fever, cough, chills, and wheezing.
Showing posts with label health and diseases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health and diseases. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2009
6 Albay students test positive for H1N1
By Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 15:37:00 07/23/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—A Benedictine school in Albay suspended classes Thursday after six of its grade school students tested positive for the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, Bicol health officials reported.
Dr. Alan Lucañas of the Department of Health in Bicol, said Thursday the six students of St. Agnes' Academy in this city were now well but were still under home quarantine.
The St. Agnes' Academy declined to identify the H1N1-infected students and refused to give information to the media.
It only announced that classes would be suspended until August 3.
Provincial and city health officials, in coordination with the school, are now contact tracing or identifying other students or teachers who have had close contact with the victims.
They are also finding out if the victims have traveled recently.
Lucañas said the confirmation of the cases was delayed three weeks because the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine— the technology used for testing and confirming H1N1 cases—in the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila, was out of order.
All cases nationwide are being tested in the RITM, which in turn send the results in a matter of three to five days to the regional health offices for intervention.
Lucañas said the three-week period that the results were delayed mattered a lot in the enforcement of precautionary measures in the school.
St. Agnes' Academy reported to the DoH high incidence of fever and colds among its students starting early July.
Dr. Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said there were now 28 cases of H1N1 in the entire Bicol region—10 in Albay and 18 in Camarines Sur.
He said there were two suspected cases whose test results were pending.
Santiago said the DOH had already localized its intervention measures against H1N1 virus, devolving them to provincial and city health offices.
Founded in 1912, St. Agnes' Academy is the oldest school in Albay, with now around 3,000 students.
The school is the first to suspend classes in Albay province due to the H1N1 virus.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 15:37:00 07/23/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—A Benedictine school in Albay suspended classes Thursday after six of its grade school students tested positive for the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, Bicol health officials reported.
Dr. Alan Lucañas of the Department of Health in Bicol, said Thursday the six students of St. Agnes' Academy in this city were now well but were still under home quarantine.
The St. Agnes' Academy declined to identify the H1N1-infected students and refused to give information to the media.
It only announced that classes would be suspended until August 3.
Provincial and city health officials, in coordination with the school, are now contact tracing or identifying other students or teachers who have had close contact with the victims.
They are also finding out if the victims have traveled recently.
Lucañas said the confirmation of the cases was delayed three weeks because the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine— the technology used for testing and confirming H1N1 cases—in the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila, was out of order.
All cases nationwide are being tested in the RITM, which in turn send the results in a matter of three to five days to the regional health offices for intervention.
Lucañas said the three-week period that the results were delayed mattered a lot in the enforcement of precautionary measures in the school.
St. Agnes' Academy reported to the DoH high incidence of fever and colds among its students starting early July.
Dr. Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said there were now 28 cases of H1N1 in the entire Bicol region—10 in Albay and 18 in Camarines Sur.
He said there were two suspected cases whose test results were pending.
Santiago said the DOH had already localized its intervention measures against H1N1 virus, devolving them to provincial and city health offices.
Founded in 1912, St. Agnes' Academy is the oldest school in Albay, with now around 3,000 students.
The school is the first to suspend classes in Albay province due to the H1N1 virus.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Cholera kills 2, downs 124 in Masbate
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 18:33:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Health officials noted a cholera outbreak for the past three weeks in Ticao Island, Masbate after having recorded 124 cases and two fatalities in the towns of Monreal and San Fernando, the Department of Health in Bicol reported Friday.
Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said in a report that in Monreal town, most of the cases were seen in the village of Guinhadap with a total of 96. There were four cases in the village of Morocborocan and nine in the village of Poblacion.
In San Fernando town, all 15 cases were seen in the village of Ipil.
Most of the victims were children and adolescents. Initial laboratory tests through stool culture revealed three of the 124 cases as positive for Cholera Ogawa.
Cholera is a bacterial disease marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
Santiago Jr. said their study of the trend of cholera occurrence in the Bicol region showed a reemergence every three to four years.
"This year, being the fourth year since its last regionwide increase, we expect the reemergence of the disease," Santiago Jr. said.
He said prolonged rainy days and the occurrence of floods in many areas in Bicol as well as the unsanitary toilet conditions in villages are some factors that might have caused the reemergence of the disease.
Santiago Jr. said the DOH had distributed medicines like, fluids, antibiotics, and laboratory supplies to cholera hot spot areas in Masbate.
However, what complicated things, he said, was the confusion as to where to refer the cases since most of the health centers were closed during the holidays. Only hospitals were open.
Menwhile, some 32 diarrhea cases have also been recorded first week of January in the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, of which 21
cases were from the village of Banocboc and 11 from Pinagtigasan.
Twenty-five percent of the victims were infants while the rest were from ages one to 10.
Santiago Jr. said laboratory tests through stool culture yielded negative results for cholera. Water tests have also been conducted but results have yet to be released.
Santiago Jr. said diarrhea cases increase mostly during the rainy season when open wells become contaminated because of poor drainage systems.
Residents in affected areas were advised to do household chlorination to ensure potable water.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 18:33:00 01/09/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Health officials noted a cholera outbreak for the past three weeks in Ticao Island, Masbate after having recorded 124 cases and two fatalities in the towns of Monreal and San Fernando, the Department of Health in Bicol reported Friday.
Nestor Santiago Jr., Bicol health director, said in a report that in Monreal town, most of the cases were seen in the village of Guinhadap with a total of 96. There were four cases in the village of Morocborocan and nine in the village of Poblacion.
In San Fernando town, all 15 cases were seen in the village of Ipil.
Most of the victims were children and adolescents. Initial laboratory tests through stool culture revealed three of the 124 cases as positive for Cholera Ogawa.
Cholera is a bacterial disease marked by severe gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea.
Santiago Jr. said their study of the trend of cholera occurrence in the Bicol region showed a reemergence every three to four years.
"This year, being the fourth year since its last regionwide increase, we expect the reemergence of the disease," Santiago Jr. said.
He said prolonged rainy days and the occurrence of floods in many areas in Bicol as well as the unsanitary toilet conditions in villages are some factors that might have caused the reemergence of the disease.
Santiago Jr. said the DOH had distributed medicines like, fluids, antibiotics, and laboratory supplies to cholera hot spot areas in Masbate.
However, what complicated things, he said, was the confusion as to where to refer the cases since most of the health centers were closed during the holidays. Only hospitals were open.
Menwhile, some 32 diarrhea cases have also been recorded first week of January in the Calaguas Group of Islands in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, of which 21
cases were from the village of Banocboc and 11 from Pinagtigasan.
Twenty-five percent of the victims were infants while the rest were from ages one to 10.
Santiago Jr. said laboratory tests through stool culture yielded negative results for cholera. Water tests have also been conducted but results have yet to be released.
Santiago Jr. said diarrhea cases increase mostly during the rainy season when open wells become contaminated because of poor drainage systems.
Residents in affected areas were advised to do household chlorination to ensure potable water.
Friday, June 27, 2008
DOH allays fears of fish poisoning
By Kristine L. Alave in Manila and Ephraim Aguilar and Jaymee Gamil, Inquirer Southern Luzon
HEALTH OFFICIALS YESTERDAY SOUGHT TO allay fears that seafood and fish caught in waters near the capsized MV Princess of the Stars were contaminated as a result of bodies that have not been retrieved in the sunken vessel.
The advisory couldn’t have come at a better time as Masbate provincial officials were battling rumors that marine products from the province were contaminated, causing a sharp decline in fish sale in the province.
Masbate Gov. Elisa Kho appealed to the public to calm down as she corrected rumors that fish caught in Masbate posed health risks to consumers.
“As long as they cook the fish very well, it is safe for consumption,” said Kho, a doctor by profession.
She said the fish scare had brought losses to fishermen in the province.
Dr. Eric Tayag, of the National Epidemiology Center, said most fish species are not carnivores and, therefore, would not eat human flesh.
“Fishes don’t eat humans,” he said. Most fish, he said, eat small plants. Bigger fishes, on the other hand, prey on smaller fishes or other marine animals, he added.
Authorities believed that around 800 passengers were trapped to death inside the ship when it was swallowed by Typhoon “Frank.”
Since the sinking, residents of Romblon and nearby provinces have refused to eat fish caught in the surrounding waters for fear that they have been contaminated by the decomposing bodies.
Dr. Baby Banatin, chief of the Department of Health Emergency Management Service, acknowledged that there is a “psychological” aversion to fish caught near the ferry.
However, she said the public should not be afraid to eat fish and seafood from the Sibuyan Sea, where the ferry sank last Saturday, saying the corpses do not pose a health risk.
“Normally, dead bodies do not pose a threat. The bodies died because of trauma, not diseases,” she said.
The Department of Health officials also said the bodies do not pose a risk to handlers and divers, who use protective gears in scouring the vessel.
Tayag and Banatin said bacteria and viruses die with the person.
“The greatest fear is psychological. Are they prepared to fish out the bodies? Are they prepared to see the bloated bodies?” she said.
Tayag said DOH has raised alerts in Iloilo, Antique, and Capiz provinces against water borne diseases.
Residents in these provinces were urged to boil their water before drinking it.
In Daraga, Albay, vendors and buyers just shrugged off the fish scare.
“If there’s a fish scare, prices would drop. But prices even increased because it’s the full moon and fish catch is down,” Fe Rifo, 30, said.
“We have yet to be poisoned by fish,” she said.
She said she was aware that bodies were surfacing in waters of Masbate.
HEALTH OFFICIALS YESTERDAY SOUGHT TO allay fears that seafood and fish caught in waters near the capsized MV Princess of the Stars were contaminated as a result of bodies that have not been retrieved in the sunken vessel.
The advisory couldn’t have come at a better time as Masbate provincial officials were battling rumors that marine products from the province were contaminated, causing a sharp decline in fish sale in the province.
Masbate Gov. Elisa Kho appealed to the public to calm down as she corrected rumors that fish caught in Masbate posed health risks to consumers.
“As long as they cook the fish very well, it is safe for consumption,” said Kho, a doctor by profession.
She said the fish scare had brought losses to fishermen in the province.
Dr. Eric Tayag, of the National Epidemiology Center, said most fish species are not carnivores and, therefore, would not eat human flesh.
“Fishes don’t eat humans,” he said. Most fish, he said, eat small plants. Bigger fishes, on the other hand, prey on smaller fishes or other marine animals, he added.
Authorities believed that around 800 passengers were trapped to death inside the ship when it was swallowed by Typhoon “Frank.”
Since the sinking, residents of Romblon and nearby provinces have refused to eat fish caught in the surrounding waters for fear that they have been contaminated by the decomposing bodies.
Dr. Baby Banatin, chief of the Department of Health Emergency Management Service, acknowledged that there is a “psychological” aversion to fish caught near the ferry.
However, she said the public should not be afraid to eat fish and seafood from the Sibuyan Sea, where the ferry sank last Saturday, saying the corpses do not pose a health risk.
“Normally, dead bodies do not pose a threat. The bodies died because of trauma, not diseases,” she said.
The Department of Health officials also said the bodies do not pose a risk to handlers and divers, who use protective gears in scouring the vessel.
Tayag and Banatin said bacteria and viruses die with the person.
“The greatest fear is psychological. Are they prepared to fish out the bodies? Are they prepared to see the bloated bodies?” she said.
Tayag said DOH has raised alerts in Iloilo, Antique, and Capiz provinces against water borne diseases.
Residents in these provinces were urged to boil their water before drinking it.
In Daraga, Albay, vendors and buyers just shrugged off the fish scare.
“If there’s a fish scare, prices would drop. But prices even increased because it’s the full moon and fish catch is down,” Fe Rifo, 30, said.
“We have yet to be poisoned by fish,” she said.
She said she was aware that bodies were surfacing in waters of Masbate.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Clean water for Albay, but poor griping
17 January 2008
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
A MULTIMILLION-PESO FACIlity to deliver clean water from a river to more than 17,000 households in Legazpi City may be a superb idea, but not so for the poor who cannot afford to pay for it.
Philippine Hydro (Phil-Hydro) Inc., which will undertake the P300-million bulk water project for the government-owned Legazpi City Water District (LCWD), will charge consumers P13.50 per cubic meter, or an increase of almost half of the present rate.
This would mean a jump of P198 this year up to 2009 in the existing monthly minimum rate of P135 for a consumption of not more than 10 cubic meters. More increases are scheduled until 2015, when the rate will be pegged at P238.
According to LCWD officials, the rate increases are necessary if the consumers want a quality and stable supply of water.
Water from river
Under the new system called “High-rate Permanent Media Filtration Technology,” water will be tapped from the Yawa River, an 11-kilometer channel where volcanic gullies converge and extend up to the Albay Gulf, instead of from springs around Mayon Volcano.
“Water coming from the Yawa River will pass through embedded perforated pipes that shall serve as a natural filtration system. The new system operates modern equipment that will ensure the required water quality is met before distribution to the public,” says Desiree Michelle Barcelon, LCWD public relations assistant.
She says the spring water is now discolored because of its high iron content. She cited studies conducted by the LCWD and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
It is reddish and smells like fish—characteristics of water from artesian wells that is not potable—says chemical engineer Junel Borbo, a professor at the Bicol University College of Engineering. At higher levels of contamination, it looks a little slimy, he adds.
Barcelon also cites another study showing a periodic scarcity of water due to climatic and topographical changes commonly affecting springs. For example, the erstwhile popular hot springs in Tiwi town in Albay, home to the Chevron geothermal plant, have already dried up, leading to the closure of many resorts.
Biggest in the country
The new clean water technology is the biggest of its kind in the country and the first to be run by Phil-Hydro, says its chief operating officer, Rolando Mangulabnan. It converts surface water, such as that from rivers, into water of “bottled quality,” he says.
PhilHydro is committed to supply at least 20,000 cubic meters of water per day.
“It will be environment-friendly if we stop drilling holes. Surface water, unlike groundwater, is free from salt intrusion. Nowhere in Metro Manila is this US technology used,” he says.
Water from the rivers can be put to good use before it is flushed out to the sea to mix with salt water, says Mangulabnan, who is an environmental engineer and a former agrarian reform undersecretary.
In opposing the project, the Legazpi City Slumdwellers Federation Inc. (LCSFI) claims that no proper public consultation was held regarding the changes in water supply system and rates. The group has 3,000 members, according to the Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE) Foundation.
Together with COPE, the LCSFI plans to file a petition to the city council asking for a comprehensive investigation of the project.
“The rate increase is unjustifiable since many of the people here are in the brink of poverty, especially after the series of calamities that hit the province,” says Numeriano de la Torre, COPE’s assistant regional coordinator. He adds that a rate increase is not a solution for an efficient water service.
But Barcelon says a careful study on the city’s water supply situation was made before the LWUA recommended a “justified” increase. Nine of the city’s 33 villages have less or no supply of water during peak hours, while five still do not have distribution lines, she says.
A public hearing was held on Dec. 21 last year to discuss the increase, but only 128 consumers came, she adds.
It was not a public consultation at all, De la Torre says, and the place was not accessible to many people.
According to Barcelon, LWUA representatives were there to listen to the sentiments of the public. “It is only after the public hearing that the LWUA can confirm the increase for implementation. Until now, we are still waiting for the confirmation,” she says.
Gonzalo Gomez, 53, one of the water district subscribers from Barangay Baybay, does not favor the increase. “Due to poverty, no one will be in favor of any increase. Money is hard to earn these days,” he says in the vernacular.
“I will just reinstall our old water pump, if we could no longer pay our water bill.”
By Ephraim Aguilar
Legazpi City
A MULTIMILLION-PESO FACIlity to deliver clean water from a river to more than 17,000 households in Legazpi City may be a superb idea, but not so for the poor who cannot afford to pay for it.
Philippine Hydro (Phil-Hydro) Inc., which will undertake the P300-million bulk water project for the government-owned Legazpi City Water District (LCWD), will charge consumers P13.50 per cubic meter, or an increase of almost half of the present rate.
This would mean a jump of P198 this year up to 2009 in the existing monthly minimum rate of P135 for a consumption of not more than 10 cubic meters. More increases are scheduled until 2015, when the rate will be pegged at P238.
According to LCWD officials, the rate increases are necessary if the consumers want a quality and stable supply of water.
Water from river
Under the new system called “High-rate Permanent Media Filtration Technology,” water will be tapped from the Yawa River, an 11-kilometer channel where volcanic gullies converge and extend up to the Albay Gulf, instead of from springs around Mayon Volcano.
“Water coming from the Yawa River will pass through embedded perforated pipes that shall serve as a natural filtration system. The new system operates modern equipment that will ensure the required water quality is met before distribution to the public,” says Desiree Michelle Barcelon, LCWD public relations assistant.
She says the spring water is now discolored because of its high iron content. She cited studies conducted by the LCWD and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
It is reddish and smells like fish—characteristics of water from artesian wells that is not potable—says chemical engineer Junel Borbo, a professor at the Bicol University College of Engineering. At higher levels of contamination, it looks a little slimy, he adds.
Barcelon also cites another study showing a periodic scarcity of water due to climatic and topographical changes commonly affecting springs. For example, the erstwhile popular hot springs in Tiwi town in Albay, home to the Chevron geothermal plant, have already dried up, leading to the closure of many resorts.
Biggest in the country
The new clean water technology is the biggest of its kind in the country and the first to be run by Phil-Hydro, says its chief operating officer, Rolando Mangulabnan. It converts surface water, such as that from rivers, into water of “bottled quality,” he says.
PhilHydro is committed to supply at least 20,000 cubic meters of water per day.
“It will be environment-friendly if we stop drilling holes. Surface water, unlike groundwater, is free from salt intrusion. Nowhere in Metro Manila is this US technology used,” he says.
Water from the rivers can be put to good use before it is flushed out to the sea to mix with salt water, says Mangulabnan, who is an environmental engineer and a former agrarian reform undersecretary.
In opposing the project, the Legazpi City Slumdwellers Federation Inc. (LCSFI) claims that no proper public consultation was held regarding the changes in water supply system and rates. The group has 3,000 members, according to the Community Organization of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE) Foundation.
Together with COPE, the LCSFI plans to file a petition to the city council asking for a comprehensive investigation of the project.
“The rate increase is unjustifiable since many of the people here are in the brink of poverty, especially after the series of calamities that hit the province,” says Numeriano de la Torre, COPE’s assistant regional coordinator. He adds that a rate increase is not a solution for an efficient water service.
But Barcelon says a careful study on the city’s water supply situation was made before the LWUA recommended a “justified” increase. Nine of the city’s 33 villages have less or no supply of water during peak hours, while five still do not have distribution lines, she says.
A public hearing was held on Dec. 21 last year to discuss the increase, but only 128 consumers came, she adds.
It was not a public consultation at all, De la Torre says, and the place was not accessible to many people.
According to Barcelon, LWUA representatives were there to listen to the sentiments of the public. “It is only after the public hearing that the LWUA can confirm the increase for implementation. Until now, we are still waiting for the confirmation,” she says.
Gonzalo Gomez, 53, one of the water district subscribers from Barangay Baybay, does not favor the increase. “Due to poverty, no one will be in favor of any increase. Money is hard to earn these days,” he says in the vernacular.
“I will just reinstall our old water pump, if we could no longer pay our water bill.”
Rabies feared in 30 dogmeat eaters
13 January 2008
LEGAZPI CITY—Some 30 people from several villages in Malinao, Albay are feared to have been infected by rabies after eating the meat of a rabid dog.
Malinao Mayor Billy Ciriola said that as of Saturday morning, municipal health officials have been busy searching for at least 25 residents of Barangay Estancia and five residents from neighboring villages who reportedly ate the dog meat that proved to be rabies infested.
Ciriola said in a mobile phone interview that the dog has bitten three persons already and municipal health officers “suggested that the dog be slaughtered and brought to the health office for examination.”
However, he said, the health officers did not know that after the head of the dog was brought to them, the villagers butchered the dog’s body and ate its meat.
Ciriola said some of the victims were already brought to different hospitals for observation and antirabies vaccination although there were yet no reports on their latest condition. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—Some 30 people from several villages in Malinao, Albay are feared to have been infected by rabies after eating the meat of a rabid dog.
Malinao Mayor Billy Ciriola said that as of Saturday morning, municipal health officials have been busy searching for at least 25 residents of Barangay Estancia and five residents from neighboring villages who reportedly ate the dog meat that proved to be rabies infested.
Ciriola said in a mobile phone interview that the dog has bitten three persons already and municipal health officers “suggested that the dog be slaughtered and brought to the health office for examination.”
However, he said, the health officers did not know that after the head of the dog was brought to them, the villagers butchered the dog’s body and ate its meat.
Ciriola said some of the victims were already brought to different hospitals for observation and antirabies vaccination although there were yet no reports on their latest condition. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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