CASES of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in the region increased by 830 percent to 567 cases with one death in 2019 from 61 cases in 2018, according to the Department of Health Cordillera Administrative Region (DOH-CAR).
Nurse 5 Geeny Anne Austria, DOH–CAR Center for Health and Development, said the department is currently conducting an investigation to determine how the disease was transmitted in these cases.
“In our ongoing investigation, what we want to look at are the areas where children sometimes in their homes, neighborhoods, schools who may have transmitted the disease because this is more of the saliva after sneezing and with close contact which results in the speedy acquisition of the disease,” Austria said.
Austria said HFMD is a different virus from the African swine fever (ASF) virus which affects the stomach. ASF only affects pigs while there are no recorded transmission from pigs to humans of the said virus.
“For food safety purposes, what is being recommended is to cook products well for the virus not to survive in such an environment aside from correctly processing the food,” the nurse added.
Another disease being monitored by the health department is typhoid and paratyphoid fever which registered a 22 percent increase from 2,107 cases in 2018 to 2,564 cases this year with one death.
DOH-CAR is also monitoring meningococcal disease with three cases this year as compared to the four reported last year with two deaths each.
“We actually have a recent death due to meningococcal but it was actually controlled and we do not have a second case which we are monitoring because of the cases recorded in other regions. In our case, there was no history of travel, this case may be due to our weather wherein our throat easily reacts to this case which we are monitoring because although decreased, we still had a recent case,” Austria stated.
Austria said those being infected by the disease are those in close contact and exposed to patients having the disease whom we closely monitored and were given the necessary protection which eventually did not developed.
The DOH representative added that for the changing weather, the health department expects an increase in influenza like illness and suspect cases which affects the upper respiratory tract.
“Our message still is in protecting ourselves particularly our immune system and to continue the practice of hand washing and sneezing and coughing etiquette. What is good with influenza is we have the anti-influenza viral shots which have to be taken before the influenza season,” Austria added.