A Department of Health (DOH) official recently said cholera cases in the past four months in Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas have reached the epidemic threshold.
In an online forum, DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Alethea de Guzman said the cases in Central Luzon reached 150, while and Eastern Visayas recorded 2,622 from January 1 to October 1.
“Subalit, wala tayong specific na province, highly urbanized city, or independent component city na nag-breach ng epidemic threshold (
Director de Guzman, however, did not identify any specific provinces, cities or towns in the two regions that reportedly breached the epidemic threshold.
The areas that had a growth rate of cases in the past four weeks include Olongapo City in Central Luzon; Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Masbate in Bicol; and Eastern Samar, Leyte, and Ormoc City in Eastern Visayas.
DOH figures show that nationally, the cholera cases increased by 286% this year with 3,890 cases compared to 2,881 in the same period last year.
About 52 percent or 2,031 of the total cases are women, while 18 percent or 692 are children aged five years to nine years.