Hospital execs ordered to treat leptos patients for free

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -– Governor Lilia Pineda instructed on Friday chiefs of various district hospitals in the province to treat leptospirosis patients free of charge.

This came as leptospirosis cases in the province are reportedly increasing in communities which up to this time are still submerged in floodwater.

As per record of the Center for Health Development in the region, the province is the second highest with 15 cases of leptospirosis next to Bulacan with 35 cases followed by Bataan, 10; Nueva Ecija, 9; and Tarlac, 6.

Governor Pineda, through the Provincial Health Office, assured that there is enough supply of doxycycline capsules to be given to the flood-affected residents mostly in the Fourth District of the province.

Dr. Marcelo Jaochico of the Provincial Health Office earlier claimed that they had already distributed doxycycline to various municipal health offices to protect the residents from leptospirosis.

In Central Luzon, four individuals already died of leptospirosis while 21 others are being treated in different hospitals for the past two weeks, reports say.

The casualties came from the towns of San Miguel and Meycauayan, Bulacan; Abucay in Bataan; and the City of San Fernando in Pampanga.

The Department of Health has recorded at least 255 cases of leptospirosis in the region from January to August 28, which is 70 percent higher compared to the same period last year.