No JE here

Japanese encephalitis report was last year: DOH

CONTRARY to several posts on social media, the Davao City Health Office (CHO) says there are no cases of Japanese Encephalitis in the city this year.

CHO head Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, in an interview, said the JE case that was reported on the internet was last year, when a 52-year-old man from Bacaca, Davao City was confirmed positive of the disease. He was discharged after several days of hospitalization.

"As of January this year to today (September 5), Davao City is JE-free according to the Department of Health 11 (DOH 11)," Villafuerte said.

However, she said the threat of the disease still has to be anticipated as the carriers of the JE virus are mosquitoes that are present anywhere.

Thus, she urged citizens to strictly follow the 4 O'clock Habit campaign of the DOH wherein communities have to take time out to search and destroy possible mosquito-breeding places at 4 p.m. every day.

A person bitten by a JE virus-carrying-mosquito, Villafuerte said, will experience symptoms eight days after and the infected

infected person may travel to another place before the disease worsens.

"We should not be complacent about it. Once a JE-free mosquito bites a JE-infected person, that mosquito might carry the virus," she said.

JE, according to DOH, is a disease caused by an arbovirus that is spread by mosquitoes which is related to Dengue, Yellow fever, and Zika.

Signs and symptoms of JE are high fever, nausea, vomiting, agitation, and chills.

Villafuerte advised the public to immediately see a doctor if a person suffers fever for more than four days with constant vomiting. No specific treatments have been found to benefit patients with JE, but hospitalization for supportive care and close observation is generally required.

DOH Central Office said on Monday, September 4, that there are already nine people from various provinces and cities and Luzon