DOH: Report suspected Zika cases in 24 hours

MANILA, Philippines - Suspected Zika virus cases must be reported within 24 hours to the Department of Health (DOH) starting today as surveillance and testing of the disease intensify. 

Health Secretary Janette Garin said Zika has been included in the category 1 classification of the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) system where a case will not go undetected.

Health facilities are mandated to immediately report any case to the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau (EB), through the country’s regional epidemiology surveillance units.

Other infectious diseases included in category 1 are the Avian Influenza, Influenza A (1N1), Mers-Cov or the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus and Ebola.

“This procedure is not new in the DOH. These surveillance guidelines have been in existence and are continuously implemented for other infectious diseases,” Garin said.

The health department wants to establish a uniform case definition for suspected Zika cases, and guidelines to improve monitoring of infections and complications.

Suspected cases 

DOH-EB director Irma Asuncion said a suspected Zika case refers to a patient suffering from fever equal to or higher than 38 degrees centigrade for more than two days, has conjunctivitis, skin rashes, headache, muscle pain, joint pains, body weakness and pain behind the eyes. 

The patient should develop the symptoms within two weeks after traveling from countries with confirmed Zika cases.

Patients who have history of the Guillain-Barre syndrome or rapid muscle weakness can be considered suspected Zika cases.

Asuncion said a suspected Zika case could also refer to a mother whose fetus, newborn, or infant’s head circumference is less than the third percentile of the World Health Organization’s standard growth charts.  

A fetus, newborn or infant, whose mother was confirmed or presumed to have contracted Zika virus during pregnancy is considered a suspected case.

The health department clarified that not all pregnant women afflicted with Zika would give birth to babies with microcephaly, a condition associated with having small head.

Garin said samples will be collected from the suspected cases and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for testing.

The DOH has received at least 5,000 testing kits from the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Since November last year, the agency has tested 827 suspected cases. No one was tested positive of the virus.

Garin said only suspected cases would be tested for the virus.

“You can only test the virus once there is active infection. Not all of those afflicted develop symptoms. About 80 percent would not manifest symptoms,” she said.

Pregnant women

Garin reiterated her advice to pregnant women to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, especially during daytime. She urged those with fever, rashes and conjunctivitis to immediately see a doctor.

“Although Zika infection is asymptomatic in 80 percent of the cases, the effect on the pregnancy should not be discounted as the virus has been linked to congenital central nervous system malformation like microcephaly,” she said.

The Bureau of Human Quarantine (BoQ) installed a giant tarpaulin at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals, informing passengers on how to prevent mosquito bites.  – With Rudy Santos