83 villagers fall ill with Chikungunya fever in Albay’s Rapu-rapu

Albay Governor Joey Salceda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY, Philippines – Chikungunya fever, a mosquito-borne disease, struck a village on Batan Island of the town of Rapu-Rapu in Albay, afflicting some 83 villagers, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said Monday.

Salceda said he has directed Dr. Luis Mendoza, the provincial health officer, to check on the reported sudden rise of the chikungunya fever cases over the last three weeks in Barangay San Ramon, Batan.

Chikungunya fever is similar to dengue but is milder in form and without bleeding. Symptoms include on and off fever, rashes and muscle and body pains, according to the Department of Health.

The governor said municipal health employees reported that the cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the Barangay San Ramon stood at 70 in the middle of September and surged to 83 cases by the end of the month.

Batan is one of the three islands under the town of Rapu-Rapu.

The others are Guinanayan and Rapu-Rapu, where the town center is situated.

Batan is only accessible by boat and is about three hours by boat from this city.

Salceda said he also directed the provincial health office to closely coordinate with the municipal health office employees due to the absence of a full time municipal doctor in the area.

He said a PHO epidemiology surveillance team would start gathering laboratory examinations specimens from the patients that would be sent brought to the Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol, located in this city, for analysis.

Mendoza, who went to Batan with a team of medical personnel, brought along medicines to treat the patients that fell ill of chikungunya fever.