Typhoid fever, measles cases increasing, PHAPI says

Aside from the increasing number of COVID-19 infections, typhoid fever as well as measles cases are also rising, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) said Monday.

During the Laging Handa briefing, PHAPI president Dr. Jose Rene de Grano said illnesses and other viral infections usually increase during the third quarter of the year.

“Kasi nandito tayo sa third quarter na tinatawag natin. Usually, sa mga hospitals itong third quarter diyan tumataas ang mga sakit at mga viral infections,” he said.

(Because we are here in the third quarter as we call it. Usually, in hospitals this third quarter is where illnesses and viral infections increase.)

“Katulad ngayon tumataas ang dengue, minsan typhoid fever, measles, at trangkaso nagkasabay-sabay po iyon,” he added.

(Like for instance dengue, typhoid fever as well as measles and flu are increasing.)

De Grano advised the public to continue adhering to the minimum health protocols to prevent from catching any diseases.

Although there was an increase in COVID-19 cases, De Grano said most of the infections are mild and moderate.

“Sa ngayon, makikita nating hindi naman ganoon katas ang healthcare utilization rate,” he said.

(Right now, we see that our healthcare utilization rate is not that high.)

Independent monitoring group OCTA Research said five provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao have recorded above 20% or “very high” COVID-19 positivity rates in the recent week.

In a tweet, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Capiz, and Negros Oriental all logged more than 20% one-week positivity rates since July 23 to July 30.

Positivity rate refers to the percentage of people found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

Capiz posted the highest positivity rate in the Vis-Min regions as of Saturday with 51.2%, a huge jump from the 30.6% on July 23.

It was followed by Aklan with 36.9% positivity rate, Antique with 28.7%, Bohol with 28.2%, and Negros Oriental with 27.6%.

Healthcare workers

Meanwhile, De Grano said they are worried about the decreasing number of healthcare workers in private hospitals.

“Although we have the physical number of beds... ang parang pinakalimitasyon na lang ng ating mga pribadong ospital ay iyon pong number of healthcare workers natin,” he said.

(Although we have the physical number of beds... the only limitation of our private hospitals is the number of our healthcare workers.)

“Ang mataas na cause ng paghina ng number ng ating mga healthcare workers ay ang pag-alis, paglisan, pagpunta sa ibang bansa ng ating mga nurses. Siguro dapat naman po ay kontrolin ng gobyerno,” he added.

(The main cause of the decline in the number of our healthcare workers is the departure of our nurses to work abroad. Maybe the government should control it.)

To address the issue, De Grano then called on the government to increase the wage of healthcare workers and provide necessary allowance to them.

“Humihingi rin kami ng parang subsidiya galing sa gobyerno nang sa ganoon ay matulungan din ang mga pribadong ospital sa hiling na maitaas ang sweldo ng ating nurses,” he said.

(We are also asking for a subsidy from the government to help private hospitals address the call of nurses for higher pay.)—AOL, GMA News