WHO assured support for the Philippines after the increasing cases of Zika virus in the country.
The World Health Organization was not surprised if Zika cases were recorded in the Philippines, a tropical country.
On Tuesday, the Department of Health said six more cases of Zika were reported this month of September, bringing the total number to nine.
Of the total 9 nine confirmed cases, seven patients are from Iloilo City, one from Cebu City, and one from Laguna province.
Following the report, WHO assured the DOH it will give full support in the agency in order to prevent the spread of the Zika virus, which studies confirmed that it is linked to microcephaly — a condition where newborns have small brains and small heads.
WHO Country Representative Dr. Gundo Weiler said out of 37 countries in the Western Pacific Region, there are now 19 nations found with Zika virus. It was only a matter of time before cases were found in the Philippines, he said.
“The fact that we see Zika in the Philippines and we detect more is not a surprise. We know there is a competent vector in the country, we know there is a lot of travel. We were assuming there is a likelihood Zika will appear in the country and spread to a certain extent,” said Weiler.
Despite the increasing number of Zika cases in the Philippines, Weiler commended the proactive measure of the DOH against Zika.
The DOH confirmed that it had disbursed P48M to buy 8,000 Zika testing kits, however, only those who show Zika symptoms — rashes, red eyes, joint pains and fever– will be tested for the virus.
Weiler said the increase in the number of cases shows the efforts of the DOH to crackdown on the virus so that it will not spread to other provinces. He said this is a welcome development at a time when countries are on alert against the spread of Zika.
“We will see more Zika being picked up so that, per se, is a development which is welcome because we will understand better in the future the circulation of the Zika in the country is,” Weiler said.
DOH spokesperson Eric Tayag earlier said that a national Zika action plan is in the go where the DOH is intensifying the capability of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for testing the virus.