THE Department of Health (DOH) said the Philippines is ready to deal with any emerging disease following reports of an unknown illness called “Disease X” affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
First reported in Kwango Province, the World Health Organization said there were now 406 cases of the unidentified disease with 31 fatalities, mostly children under five years of age.
Symptoms include fever, cough, headache and body aches.
Department of Health. TMT FILE PHOTO
Some cases have been reported in family clusters, suggesting possible transmission within households; however, the WHO said additional data was needed for confirmation.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said “Disease X” could be an emerging or re-emerging disease already classified by the WHO.
“We are monitoring this as part of our IHR (international health regulations) responsibilities, although the number of deaths has already decreased. I am awaiting the official results from the WHO teams in the area to tell us what disease it is,” Herbosa said during a year-end media gathering in Quezon City on Tuesday.
He said he was confident of the Philippines’ capacity to handle any health threat, citing how the country survived the Covid-19 pandemic with minimal resources.
“We’ve learned a lot from Covid-19, and we learned that bayanihan (communal unity and cooperation) really works,” Herbosa added.
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