DOH: 1,624 acute respiratory infections recorded among Mayon evacuees

Over 1,600 cases of acute respiratory infections were reported in Albay evacuation centers amid the Mayon Volcano’s continued unrest, the Department of Health (DOH) said Monday.

At a press conference, DOH spokesperson Undersecretary Enrique Tayag said that a total of 1,624 acute respiratory infections—including cough, colds, and sore throat—-were logged from June 12 to July 16, by the DOH’s disease surveillance office in Legazpi.

He said there were also 510 evacuees who had fever as of June 12.

“Sa araw araw nag pagmo-monitor ho namin, ang fever, headache, mga sugat ay bumababa. Ang may pagtaas lamang ay sa cough, cold, and sore throat with or without fever,” Tayag said.

(Based on our daily monitoring, cases of fever, headache, and wounds are decreasing. The only increasing cases are cough, cold, and sore throat with or without fever.)

He, however, stressed that the DOH sees no outbreak in respiratory infections in the province’s evacuation centers.

“Walang outbreak, bagamat tayo ay nagbabanatay sa magiging epekto ng sa sama sama nilang nasa evacuation center, may El Niño, at may pag-uulan,” Tayag added.

(There is no outbreak, although we are keeping an eye on the effects of the commingling in evacuation centers, considering there is also El Niño and rain.)

Twenty-seven evacuation centers are currently operating in the Bicol Region, housing 18,826 individuals or 5,392 families, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday.

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman earlier called on residents to wear N95 masks to keep themselves safe from the effects of the ashfall brought about by Mayon Volcano’s activities.

“Kailangan mas maingat ‘yung ating kasamahan na Albayano by wearing masks. N95 grade masks po ang kinakailangan because the sulfur dioxide content in the air medyo tumaas ang levels and this can actually cause…exacerbate itong may mga respiratory illnesses like asthma, bronchitis, etc.,” Lagman said.

(The Albayanos need to be more careful by wearing masks. N95 grade masks are required because the sulfur dioxide content in the air has slightly increased and this can actually cause or exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma, bronchitis, etc.)

He, however, pointed out that wearing of face masks in the province is still not mandated.

A total of 184 volcanic earthquakes, 238 rockfall events, and three dome-collapse pyroclastic density current events were recorded in Mayon Volcano in the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said Monday.

Alert Level 3 in Mayon Volcano was raised on June 8 after three PDC events were observed on the Bonga (southeast) and Basud (east) gullies of the volcano. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News