ILOILO CITY – A provincial health officer in Iloilo province said there is now an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) considering the more than 1,000 children who are infected.
“If we base it on the definition of an outbreak, it already fits the criteria,” said Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, provincial health chief.
The Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) recorded an increase of more than 2,000 percent of HFMD cases over a period of one month.
A total of 1,115 HFMD cases were recorded from Jan. 1 to Feb. 4, this year. There were only 53 cases in the same period last year.
Although there is already an HFMD outbreak, no declaration of a state of calamity yet in the Iloilo province.
Based on IPHO data, only nine out of 43 towns do not have confirmed cases of HFMD. There are 480 barangays (villages) across the province that have recorded HFMD cases.
The Santa Barbara town has recorded the biggest number of HFMD cases with 100. It is followed by Barotac Viejo town with more than 80 cases and Badiangan town with almost 80 cases.