DOH study says pneumonia top killer in Bicol

LEGAZPI CITY—Pneumonia, heart diseases, hypertension and tuberculosis are the top killer diseases in Bicol, according to the Department of Health (DOH) in the region.

Dr. Ferchito Avelino, DOH assistant regional director, said a DOH study in the region revealed that pneumonia has been the top killer disease from 2005 to 2010.

Avelino said an average of 3,708 deaths were recorded since 2005 to 2010 due to pneumonia, making this disease the leading cause of deaths in Bicol.

Dr. Nestor Santiago, DOH director for Bicol, said the prevalence of pneumonia could be due to the rains in the region. Pneumonia, he said, starts from apparently harmless colds and cough that are left untreated.

The DOH study said in 2010 alone, at least 2,971 people died of pneumonia in Bicol. Heart diseases claimed the lives of 2,882 people in the same year. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon