DOH declares Quezon ‘filariasis-free’

LUCENA CITY – The Department of Health has declared Quezon province “filariasis-free” for its elimination of the parasitic disease caused by mosquitos.

The recognition ceremony held at the Quezon Convention Center on Tuesday, was attended by DOH officials led by Assistant Secretary Dr. Maria Francis Laxamana.

The DOH granted the provincial government P1 million as assistance to its health care program.

According to the DOH, Quezon was the 38th among the 81 provinces in the country declared free of filariasis, also commonly known as “elephantiasis,” which is caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly in rural areas.

According to the World Health Organization, a place is declared filariasis-free if it attains the standard for a prevalence rate of below one percent.

In 2012, the disease afflicted at least 17 of the province’s 39 municipalities and two cities. Since then, the provincial health office continuously waged different projects and programs to educate the public on how to effectively combat the disease.

Quezon Governor David Suarez, in a message read by his chief of staff, Webster Letargo, said: “Hopefully, a few years from now, we will have another awarding ceremony that will again declare Quezon as free from other communicable diseases.”

He urged the commitment of every Quezonian, local officials and health care workers to commit themselves to the realization of that goal.