More people were reportedly afflicted with cholera this year than last year, but the Department of Health (DOH) said there was still no cause for alarm as situation was manageable.
DOH records showed a total of 3,729 cholera cases has been recorded across the country since last January, and the figure was 282 percent higher compared to the same period last year.
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a press conference, said that in 2021, there were only 976 cholera cases nationwide.
Cumulatively, most of the cholera cases were reported by Eastern Visayas, Davao Region, and Caraga.
From August 28 to September 4 alone, 258 cases were logged, most of which from Eastern Visayas, the Bicol Region, and Western Visayas.
Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas, meanwhile, have surpassed the epidemic threshold levels for the disease during the same period.
At least 33 people have reportedly died of cholera this year—three of which were logged in July, nine in August, and two in September.
Vergeire said that the most common age group affected with cholera are children aged 5 to 9, primarily due to unsafe drinking water.
“We know that it is the rainy season now, there is a lot of flooding, a lot of people also go to evacuation centers.
Because of calamities, our water systems are always affected, especially in these areas,” she said. “Some may die of severe dehydration if not treated on time, especially if the patient is immunocompromised or vulnerable,” Vergeire said.
Nonetheless, she noted that no local government unit has declared an outbreak as the incidence remained “manageable.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cholera is an “extremely virulent” disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhea due to ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
This infection affects both children and adults and can kill within hours if not treated
