Chikungunya outbreak hits Cavite; 400 cases detected

Philippine Department of Health spokesman Dr. Eric Tayag, right, answers questions from reporters beside Dr. Gundo Weiler, World Health Organization representative, during a press conference in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Philippine health officials announced that a 45-year-old female from Iloilo City, central Philippines was the first confirmed case of Zika this year due to local transmission. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

CAVITE is fighting an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness chikungunya, according to Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Eric Tayag.

Tayag told a radio interview yesterday that the Provincial Health Office of Cavite has declared an outbreak after detecting 400 suspected cases of chikungunya.

He said the reported figure covers the start of this year up to present. The DOH is currently verifying this, he added.

“It’s because in our records, Indang is still a hot zone but you have to understand that the data we receive are two weeks in between. Maybe they have a new report that’s why they declared an outbreak,” he said.

He said that based on DOH records, it was the Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) that had the highest number of reported suspected cases of chikungunya this year.

Tayag said those who are commonly affected by the disease in the country are teenagers.

He said the mosquito that carries chikungunya is the same species that carries dengue and Zika.

“So our campaign really is against mosquitoes. This is something people have to be serious about because if not, we will have an outbreak of chikungunya, dengue and then we have the Zika threat,” he said.