Japanese encephalitis kills 4 in Iloilo province

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Western Visayas has 25 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne disease Japanese encephalitis with four deaths from January 1 to May 27, 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) Region 6 said on June 23.

DOH-6 director Dr. Adriano Suba-an said that from January 1 to May 27 this year, they received a total of 256 specimen samples to be tested.

The tests are carried out by the Western Visayas Medical Center which functions as the region’s sub-national laboratory for the disease.

“As of this time, ang na-run pa lang sang aton national laboratory is ang specimen for January to early part of March,” Suba-an added, emphasizing that they are still waiting for the results of 163 specimen samples.

Suba-an furthered that the regional health office is “experiencing limited supply of reagents coming from our central laboratory in DOH.”

According to DOH-6, Iloilo province had the highest number of Japanese encephalitis cases, with a total of 12 and four fatalities.

Most of the cases were reported in the towns of Leganes, Lemery, Barotac Nuevo, and Barotac Viejo.

Meanwhile, Antique recorded seven cases, Capiz had five, and Iloilo City reported one case.

The DOH-6 also revealed that 156 or 61 percent were males ranging in age from one to 77 years old, with a median age of four years old.

Japanese encephalitis is a viral disease spread by blood-sucking insects, particularly mosquitoes of the Culex species.

To address the increasing cases of Japanese encephalitis, the DOH-6 distributed 550 rolls of long-lasting insecticide-treated screens; 4,480 nets of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets; 1,480 sachets of indoor residual spray; 22,222 sachets of larvicides; and 259 insecticide bottles.