Region VIII

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 26 January 2021

Leyte Naos Palo, Leyte- On Thursday, the Provincial Nutrition Office of Leyte lead by PNAO Mae Maraya provided an orientation on the electronic operation timbang plus (e-OPT+) to the nutrition action officers (NAOs) and coordinators who attended the First Quarter 2021 NAOs Meeting at the View Deck, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, Candahug, Palo, Leyte.

The Operation Timbang Plus (OPT Plus) is an Annual mass weighing, done every first quarter to all preschoolers 0-59 months old in a community to identify and locate the malnourished children and determine the overall nutrition situation in the community.

Designate MNAO Carol Zabala expressed her appreciation as a newbie nutrition coordinator in the Municipality of Jaro, Leyte, the inputs are important as she will coordinate and provide technical assistance to the different barangays of her town.

Read more: PNO Leyte orients e-OPT Plus

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 26 January 2021

Lep2 World Leprosy Day is observed internationally every year on the last Sunday of January to increase the public awareness of Leprosy or Hansen's Disease. French humanitarian and Philanthropist Raoul Follereau chose the date January 25 as a tribute to the life and legacy of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi who had compassion for people afflicted with leprosy. To raise public awareness of leprosy, including the medical and social implications of the disease and the rights of persons affected is the essence of celebrating World Leprosy Day on an annual basis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), leprosy was downgraded as a global public health problem in the year 2000 because it had a global prevalence of less than 1 case per 10,000 people. The Western Pacific Regional Office of the WHO classifies the Philippines as somewhat of an outlier in terms of leprosy incidence. The Philippines has the highest incidence of leprosy of any country in the region – about 1,700 new cases have been identified in each of the last three years, although that rate is half what it was a decade ago – and is largely responsible for the region being behind the rest of the world in achieving the 1 in 10,000 benchmark.

As one of the oldest recorded diseases in the world, it is an infectious chronic disease that targets the nervous system, especially the nerves in the cooler parts of the body: the hands, feet, and face. While most parts of the world considered leprosy as largely a disease of the past, the Philippines continues to grapple this disease even in this time of COVID-19 Pandemic. According to data provided by the Department of Health, statistics show that although the overall prevalence of leprosy is less than 0.4 cases per 10,000, 1,660 new cases were identified in 2017 alone, about 6.7 percent of those cases are children under the age of 15. Serious actions must be done to keep this disease on check.

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 20 January 2021

DA ASF TACLOBAN CITY (Sarwell Meniano)– At least 519 hogs were culled in Abuyog, Leyte in the past five days as cases of African swine fever (ASF) spread to nearby towns, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Tuesday.

Local authorities started the culling on Jan. 14 after four pigs in Can-aporong village in Abuyog town tested positive for the highly-contagious virus, the first case detected in the Visayas.

“The depopulated hogs were within the 500-meter radius of the first affected areas. This was our immediate action to contain the spread of ASF in Abuyog and nearby towns,” said Francis Rosaroso, DA Eastern Visayas regional information officer.

Culled pigs were from the villages of Can-aporong, San Isidro, Bunga, Canmarating, Buenavista, and Loyonsawang.

Placed under strict surveillance are 38 villages in Abuyog, nine in MacArthur, and three in Javier town, but more areas will be under monitoring as ASF affects more villages outside Abuyog, Rosaroso said.

Meanwhile, the agriculture department announced on Tuesday that results of the confirmatory test conducted on the blood samples taken from five villages from nearby towns of Javier and La Paz in Leyte, tested positive for the ASF virus, as confirmed by the Bureau of Animal Industry’s Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory.

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 25 January 2021

Bakuna TACLOBAN CITY (Gerico Sabalza)– The Department of Health (DOH) is eyeing to inoculate 80 percent of the target population in the first two weeks of the immunization campaign against measles-rubella and polio in Eastern Visayas.

The month-long vaccination program in the region will start on Feb. 1, covering over 535,000 children between zero and nine-months and below five years old for measles-rubella and oral polio vaccines, respectively.

During a virtual presser Friday, Elaine Villarosa, DOH Eastern Visayas national immunization program manager, said the region is part of the second phase of the nationwide campaign including the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas.

The first phase was in the Mindanao regions and some areas in Luzon, she added.

"The main purpose of the vaccination is to boost the immunity level of our children. We are calling the public especially parents and guardians to support this campaign. We are doing this step to prevent an impending outbreak over an existing pandemic and avoid further injury to the health care system which we are experiencing right now," Villarosa said.

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 15 January 2021

DOH8 MASSVacc TACLOBAN CITY (Gerico Sabalza) – Some 535,655 children in Eastern Visayas would be covered in the mass vaccination against measles-rubella and polio in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Friday.

The month-long supplemental immunization campaign which starts on Feb. 1, 2021 includes children between zero and nine-months and below five years old for measles-rubella and oral polio vaccines, respectively.

Elaine Villarosa, DOH Eastern Visayas national immunization program manager, said the region is part of the second phase of this nationwide campaign including the National Capital Region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas.
Mindanao regions and some areas in Luzon, she added.

"This kind of immunization is a booster dose to prevent an impending outbreak in the country. As we all know, health care services in communities have decreased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that resulted in low coverage in our routine immunization for the past months," Villarosa said.

Details: Category: Region 8; Published: 25 January 2021

Liver As the country observes the month-long Liver Cancer and Viral Hepatitis Awareness and Prevention Month, more Filipinos continues to be diagnosed with liver diseases, yet it remains a “silent epidemic.” Unhealthy lifestyle, largely influenced by Western diet and habits, is said to be among the factors leading to the rising numbers, according to experts. The outlook for liver cancer is poor, but the disease is preventable because the major risk factors for the disease have already been identified.

Liver cancer is the fifth most commonly occurring cancer in men and the ninth most commonly occurring cancer in women. There were over 840,000 new cases in 2018. The Philippines ranks 23rd of the Top 25 countries with the highest rates of liver cancer in 2018 according to the Continuous Update Project Panel of World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer. In the Philippines and other underdeveloped countries, however, the incidence of liver cancer is rather high. According to a DOH advisory, it shows that liver cancer is the third most common form of cancer among Filipinos—in men, it is the second most common, while in women, it is the ninth most common.

Liver cancer is relatively common in the Philippines primarily because many Filipinos suffer from cirrhosis of the liver, a major risk factor for liver cancer. Cirrhosis of the liver precedes 80%of all liver cancers; thus, any condition that predisposes to cirrhosis indirectly causes liver cancer. The usual cause of liver cirrhosis among Filipinos is chronic Hepatitis B, a major public health problem in the country. Chronic Hepatitis B afflicts between 10 and 12% of all Filipinos. Other less significant causes of cirrhosis are Hepatitis C infection and alcoholism.