DOH confirms 3 cases of Japanese encephalitis in Bamban

ANGELES CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Luzon has confirmed at least three cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE) that killed a child and caused apparent mental retardation in two others in Barangay Dapdap in Bamban, Tarlac, but assured the public there is no cause for alarm.

Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Tayag, assistant director of the Department of Health (DOH) in the region, said that the case of the children, whom he did not identify, were reported as early as January.

"But there is nothing to be alarmed about it. Unlike the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), JE is not new and there is a vaccine against it," he said, while stressing that the viral ailment could be avoided by merely staying away from mosquitoes.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit also asked the public not to be alarmed over the presence of the disease in the Philippines saying it is endemic to the country, with 50 to 100 cases reported every year.

He added that the cases reported in Bamban did not come from Guangdong, China where the disease broke out two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) refers to the JE as "a common mosquito-borne viral encephalitis found in Asia."

Its fatality rate, however, could be as high as 30 per- cent, with children at great risk of infection in endemic areas. This can also have neuro-psychiatric effects among survivors, the CDC said in its website.

The CDC has listed 21 countries, including the Philippines, with histories of JE, noting that in some of these countries, year-round transmission is not unusual.

It noted that in the Philippines, JE is "presumed to be endemic in all islands," where the transmission season is "uncertain" and "speculations based on locations and agro-ecosystems."

Nonetheless, provincial health officer, Dr. Ricardo Ramos, said that Gov. Jose Yap has strict instructions to continue "monitoring, fumigation and fogging" in the province’s 510 barangays. Clean-up drives and extensive information dissemination campaign are also being done to avert an epidemic. – With Sheila Crisostomo and Benjie Villa