Leptospirosis cases overwhelm hospitals

After only six of the 20 expected storms in this year’s typhoon season, the Department of Health (DOH) has already recorded 2,396 leptospirosis cases across the country since June 8, the authorities said on Saturday.
The DOH has not released comparative data about leptospirosis in previous years, but the current figure already represents more than half (55.5 percent) of the 4,575 cases reported from January to September last year. By October, there were 5,050 cases logged by the agency itself.
To date, the DOH has not released whole-year data on leptospirosis cases last year (or earlier years) and only releases incomplete data to warn the public when local government units report on surges in their areas.
Last week, the Quezon City government reported that the number of leptospirosis cases in the city has surpassed the “epidemic threshold.”
On Thursday, Quezon City said 24 deaths have already been recorded, suggesting that the victims did not receive sufficient medical attention in the days prior to their deaths. The city government said they have had 207 leptospirosis cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 3.
By Friday, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno already reported that leptospirosis cases were “overwhelming” city hospitals, particularly the Ospital ng Maynila and the Ospital ng Sta. Ana.
“In Ospital ng Maynila, the number of people is overflowing. The facility is being overwhelmed. The same condition is going on in [Ospital ng] Sta. Ana,” Moreno said in a press conference. “The emergency rooms are very much congested. We have a situation wherein people are still waiting, but they are sick. And most of the incidents have something to do with the flooding and infections with leptospirosis,” the mayor said.
Go to DOH hospitals
The mayor urged the public to proceed to other hospitals to seek assistance, particularly the San Lazaro Hospital and Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center in Santa Cruz, Philippine General Hospital in Ermita and Tondo Medical Center, all hospitals run by the DOH.
The day after Moreno’s press conference, the DOH announced it would open “fast lanes” in all of its 19 hospitals in Metro Manila, a week after the agency itself warned the public against self-medication and advised a proper medical evaluation.
Last week, the DOH said it expected a surge in cases when it reported 569 leptospirosis cases across the country.
But, the DOH said, it had enough stocks of doxycycline, the medication of choice for leptospirosis, but patients must first be assessed by professionals or the disease can get worse.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection usually transmitted to humans through contact with contaminated water.
The current surge occurred only after six storms flooded many parts of the country, but the rainy season usually lasts until November with average of 20 storms expected each year.
The worst surge reported was last year, when the DOH itself reported about 5,050 cases by October, but the data, which are usually not made public, could not be compared because they are not complete and contained conflicting information because of differences in time periods or areas affected.