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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Doc Nanay' Garin scolds DOH on bungled handling of leptospirosis surge 

'Doc Nanay' Garin scolds DOH on bungled handling of leptospirosis surge 

Published Aug 12, 2024 03:04 am

At A Glance

  • The Department of Health (DOH) must treat the rise in leptospirosis cases as a wake-up call and a reason to get its act together, according to House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Janette Garin.

IMG-e272468f69200482063479479e31b250-V.jpgIloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)




The Department of Health (DOH) must treat the rise in leptospirosis cases as a wake-up call and a reason to get its act together.

Thus, said House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Janette Garin as she noted the surge in cases of the ailment, which forced the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) to convert its gymnasium into a ward for patients.

"This is a wake-up call to the [DOH] to be more aggressive kasi sa panahon ngayon marami na ang fake news at dapat taboo ang fake news sa [DOH] kasi minsan kuryente rin ang nasasabing mga statements," said Garin, a former health secretary.

(These days, there are a lot of fake news, and fake news should be taboo in DOH. Sometimes the statements aren't true.)

"Doc Nanay" said the DOH should have advised the public regarding precautions on leptospirosis even as Typhoon "Carina" started to bring heavy rains.

Garin slammed the recurring lapses of DOH in delivering doxycycline--an antibiotic commonly used to prevent leptospirosis--to provinces before the flooding happened.

"Ang problema, may pondo naman para sa libreng doxycycline subalit ang availability on the grounds ay mahirap. Ito ay paulit-ulit natin na hinaing sa DOH pero pinapakinggan lang pero hindi naman [naaksyunan]," the lawmaker said.

(The problem is, there are funds for free doxycycline but the availability on the ground is scarce. This has been our constant complaint to the DOH but they only listen, there's no action.)

"Ang dapat doon, aggressive, ipadala agad sa lugar at nandoon dapat ang gamot, hindi na pahirapan pa...This is a failure of appropriate and adequate public health communication," she added.

(They should have been aggressive, they should have immediately sent out the medicines to improve availability.)

Garin, also a doctor, noted that individuals who waded through the flood--even those without wounds--should take doxycycline within 72 hours.

According to DOH, there were 67 cases of leptospirosis from July 14 to July 27. This brought the total number of cases to 1,444 this year, with 162 deaths.

Related Tags

Janette Garin Department of Health (DOH) Leptospirosis
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