CASES of leptospirosis in the country are expected to further drop this month, according to a health official Friday.

Department of Health (DOH) Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases Program manager Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy said the development is not surprising since flooding in Metro Manila have already subsided.

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“Since the flooding have already subsided, naturally, the number of leptospirosis cases will now begin to lessen since there are lesser chances of people being inflicted with the disease,” Lee Suy said.

He also reported that there were no more outbreaks recorded by the DOH despite several areas being submerged to flood due to typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng, and “Santi.”

To recall, the DOH declared outbreaks in Marikina City and three towns in La Union while three municipalities in Pangasinan were placed on the watch list.

But Lee Suy said the DOH has yet to monitor any other areas where a potential outbreak could emerge.

As of November 5, the DOH-National Epidemiology Center reported that a total of 177 individuals have died from leptospirosis in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, with San Lazaro Hospital in Manila having the highest with 49.

On the overall, the NCR already has a total of 2,279 leptospirosis cases recorded from some 15 Metro-based hospitals with the Philippine General Hospital having dealt with 216 patients.

To prove that the cases are already slowing down, Lee Suy noted that Metro Manila had 2,277 cases just a day earlier with 174 deaths.

He explained this meant that “only” three more deaths were recorded and two additional cases in the past 24 hours. (MSN/Sunnex)