1 month ago
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CITY OF MALOLOS — Bulacan has heightened its alert to curb the rising number of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in the province.
The provincial government, through the Provincial Health Office (PHO), conducted initiatives to control the spread of the vi-ral infection, including a 24/7 surveillance in all 24 municipalities and cities of Bulacan.
Steps have been initiated to combat the disease such as the round the clock coordination with sanitary inspectors in city and municipal health offices, continuous monitoring of HFMD cases, immediate transport and verification of specimens to confirm HFMD cases, and a widespread dissemination of information to the public.
Moreover, the PHO advised the public to be cautious as HFMD has no cure. However, the symptoms can be lessened through drinking a lot of water and taking over-the-counter medicines for fever and body pain.
A total of 252 suspected HFMD cases were tallied from Jan. 1 to 25 this year, 460 percent higher compared to the same period last year, the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) reported on Friday.
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The City of San Jose del Monte has recorded the most number of cases with 37, followed by Marilao (35) and Santa Maria (22).
Most of the cases recorded were children four years old and younger. The youngest was an eight-month-old infants.
Data showed that 73 percent of the cases came from the reports of Rural Health Units or Municipal/City Health Offices, while 17.9 percent were from government hospitals, and 9.1 percent were recorded in private hospitals.
Some of the symptoms of HFMD, according to the PHO, are fever, painful and red blisters on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheek, no appetite to eat, weak and unwilling to move, frequent irritability of babies and children, sore throat, red rashes without itching that sometimes blister on the palms, soles, and buttocks.
Meanwhile, Gov. Daniel Fernando also advised the parents to take extra care of their children. He also promised to make public health one of the priorities of his administration.
"Sa mga magulang naman po, doblehin po natin ang pag-aalaga at pagbabantay sa ating mga anak lalo na sa mga sanggol para makaiwas po tayo sa mga ganitong klase ng sakit. Gagawan at hahanapan po natin sa pamamagitan ng pamahalaang panlalawigan ng mga paraan upang patuloy kayong mabigyan ng proteksiyon sa inyong kalusugan (To the parents, let's prioritize our chil-dren's health by doubling our care and vigilance, especially for infants. We, in the provincial government, will do our best to explore ways to protect your health and well-being)," he said.
