HEALTH Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said Tuesday the number of Zika patients had reached 33 as of November 13 after 10 more cases were recorded.
She said 12 cases were recorded in Iloilo, four in Bacoor, Cavite; three in Mandaluyong, three in Calamba, Laguna; two in Antipolo, Rizal; two in Las Piñas, two in Muntinlupa, one in Cebu, one in Quezon City, one in Makati. one in Caloocan and one in Manila.
Western Visayas had the highest number of recorded cases in the Philippines followed by Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Central Visayas.
Ubial said only four regions had recorded Zika cases but samples from the regional offices around the country were still being monitored by her department along with local government units and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
She said the pregnant woman who contracted Zika in Cebu had undergone two ultrasounds and presented no abnormalities in her pregnancy.
“She’s still alright and we are monitoring her,” Ubial said. She said the initial ultrasound and the second ultrasound were both normal.
Zika, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is usually not life-threatening but it has been linked to a rise in birth defects in other countries, where hundreds of babies have been born with unusually small heads in recent years.
The Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in the urban areas and Aedes albopictus in the rural areas.
The Aedes mosquito bites aggressively during the day, and is the same mosquito that transmits Dengue and Chikungunya.
The Health Department has advised people who are experiencing the Zika symptoms skin rashes, fever, red eyes and headache to immediately consult a doctor.