2 Zika cases reported in Cavite

MANILA, Philippines - Two more cases of Zika virus have been reported in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region, bringing to 19 the total number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the country.

Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo yesterday said the two new Zika cases both came from Cavite, but the Department of Health (DOH) is still verifying if they are relatives.

“We received the report from the hospital where they were admitted. But they have been discharged and are now at home,” Bayugo noted.

He said based on initial information, one of the patients is a 12-year-old boy while the other is a woman in her 40s.

The DOH gathered only sketchy reports on the latest Zika cases, but Bayugo said they opted to immediately release the information to protect the residents of Cavite.

Of the total 19 cases, Bayugo said 12 were from Western Visayas, three from the National Capital Region, three in Calabarzon and one in Central Visayas.

“All the cases did not have a history of travel to Zika-affected countries and thus confirmed to be locally acquired,” Bayugo said.

He, however, assured the public that the government is undertaking efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

He said the DOH has provided the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) P16.5 million for the purchase of testing kits and vector surveillance materials.

RITM director Socorro Lapitan said they have 7,000 test kits available to confirm Zika cases.

Lapitan further reported that the RITM is also making available 1,000 testing kits for sub-national laboratories as well as vector surveillance in selected ports and airports.

“We need two kits per patient to confirm if they are afflicted with Zika and rule out dengue and chikungunya,” Lapitan said.

Lapitan said RITM is only offering free test to patients manifesting Zika symptoms such as rashes and fever.

“Test for each patient costs P6,000 so it would be impractical to assess asymptomatic or those patients not manifesting any symptoms of the virus,” Lapitan pointed out.

Although incidence of Zika remains low in the Philippines, the World Health Organization (WHO) stressed the need to undertake vector control measures at this point.

The WHO said the Philippines is still lucky not to have recorded any case of malformations among newborns due to Zika.

However, the WHO said eradication of mosquito breeding sites is still important to stop the spread not only of Zika, but also of other mosquito-borne diseases like chikungunya and dengue.

Philippine Medical Association president Irineo Bernardo called on the DOH to come out with clear guidelines to help doctors immediately identify Zika cases.

Yesterday, the DOH mounted the first National Summit on the Zika virus to disseminate information on the government’s action plan.

Health experts discussed various ways to prevent transmission of the virus during the summit.

They said some people may already be carriers of Zika virus, but are not manifesting any symptoms of the infection.

“Some cases are asymptomatic which make it more dangerous because they can spread the virus without knowing it,” Philippine General Hospital doctor Ricardo Manalastas said.