MANILA, Philippines ? The Department of Health (DoH) has entered into an agreement with five private hospitals to which the government can refer poor leptospirosis patients who can no longer be accommodated in congested public hospitals.
Under the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed on Thursday between the DoH and the hospitals, the government will give a P5,000 subsidy for treating a patient for an uncomplicated case and P20,000 for a complicated one.
The DoH has allotted P60 million for the subsidy.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the subsidy was ?not enough? to cover the expenses, but under the agreement, the private hospitals will shoulder the cost of the rest of the treatment until the patients recover.
The DoH has already sounded an appeal for international help for either technical or logistical support to cope with the ?unprecedented? number of leptospirosis cases.
Unprecedented
?This is unprecedented (worldwide). There?s been no situation like what we have in the Philippines where within less than a month?s time we have doubled or tripled the average number of cases in a year?s time,? Duque said.
?However, patients cannot just go to these private hospitals and avail themselves of this treatment package because only those who will be referred by DoH hospitals due to congestion will be accommodated by our pre-identified referral private facilities,? Duque said.
He said all the participating hospitals must be equipped with hemo and peritoneal dialysis, intensive care units and ventilators. They should also set up a special ward and allot additional beds in anticipation of referrals.
The hospitals that signed the MOA are Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City, MCU-F.D. Tanchoco Medical Foundation Hospital in Caloocan City, Manila Doctors? Hospital in Manila, Los Bańos Doctors Hospital and The Medical City in Pasig City.
The MCU-F.D. Tanchoco Medical Foundation Hospital said its average treatment cost per patient for a complicated case was P194,000, and P7,800 per patient for an uncomplicated case.
Rat urine in floodwaters
Government hospitals, however, treat leptospirosis patients for free.
Leptospirosis is a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection contracted by swallowing or absorbing contaminated water through cuts in the skin. The infection is commonly transmitted in floodwaters tainted by the urine of rats and other animals.
Symptoms include fever, a red rash, headache, redness of the eyes, jaundice, muscle and joint pains, vomiting and fatigue which may appear as early as two days after exposure or as late as 21 days.
From Oct. 1 to Oct. 21, there were 1,963 leptospirosis patients admitted in 15 hospitals in Metro Manila, 148 of whom have died.
Duque said the data did not reflect the complete picture of reported leptospirosis cases brought about by flash floods that hit Metro Manila, Region 4-A and recently Regions 1, 2 and 3 because of back-to-back Tropical Storms ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng.?
?This data is not complete. This is for tracking purposes only so we can see how fast the cases have been rising,? the health secretary said.
1.28M still living in flooded areas
While hospitals were reporting new leptospirosis cases daily, the number of new patients was not as high as during the second week of October, he said.
?While we see a decreasing trend, we might see a surge to higher numbers again as we foresee that with Typhoon ?Ramil,? which will cause more rains and more flooded communities and will present added risk to our people,? Duque said.
With 1.28 million residents still living in flooded areas, the DoH estimates 1.7 million people ?are at high-risk (of) exposure? to the disease and up to 3,800 could eventually get infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The DoH earlier ordered 1.3 million people to take antibiotics to bolster their natural defenses against disease.
Early treatment
Doctors advise early recognition and treatment within two days of the illness to prevent complications to the kidney, liver and to the brain that could be fatal.
Seven other hospitals are expected to enter into the arrangement, namely St. Luke?s Medical Center; De los Santos-STI Medical Center; Cardinal Santos Medical Center; Fe del Mundo Children?s Medical Center Foundation; Dr. Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital; Chinese General Hospital; and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
In a statement, the WHO said on Thursday that the Philippine government had ?requested a Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network mission to provide assistance in the management of the outbreak of leptospirosis as a result of the continued exposure of affected populations to floodwaters.?
The WHO regional office in Manila said it was ?processing orders for leptospirosis rapid diagnostic test kits.? With a report from Agence France-Presse
