MANILA — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa on Friday emphasized the need for Metro Manila to control the rodent population as part of efforts to address leptospirosis. 

This, as the national capital region’s hospitals become overwhelmed with severe leptospirosis cases a few weeks after Metro Manila was hit by massive floods due to the enhanced monsoon and typhoon Carina.

DOH orders state hospitals to prep for leptospirosis surge

 In a televised interview, Herbosa said that he intends to meet with the MMDA and the Metro Manila Council to push for good solid waste management especially during the rainy season to decrease the rodent population and prevent leptospirosis cases.

 “You see piles of garbage in every corner in most of the communities and when the floodwaters come all these garbage disappears – they’re in the floodwaters and they all had rats that actually populate and eat them. So, when solid waste management is poor, the rodent population numbers increase. When the rodent population numbers increased, leptospirosis cases will increase. So, if we control the rodents, we should be able to control this as a public health endeavor,” Herbosa said.

 “We should be able to control this. We are a city below sea level so it’s always flooded but if we keep our solid waste management and rodent population low, I shouldn’t be having this upsurge of leptospirosis cases a week after or two weeks after floods,” he added.

Government hospitals have enough beds for leptospirosis patients: DOH

 The Health chief earlier said that he will coordinate with Education Secretary Sonny Angara to help educate kids about the risks of swimming in flood waters.

“I think, that should be in the curriculum of elementary or maybe our public officials should build public swimming pools where water is chlorinated so they don’t wait for the flood season before they go swimming. So, that’s something we can actually inculcate in the minds of our kids. I keep saying, swimming in floodwaters is like swimming in the poso negro, in sewer because it’s dirty water. All floodwaters are dirty and we get many diseases not only lepto – skin diseases and other diseases from your eyes, when you swallow the water there that’s very dirty,” he said.

“So, very important education. We need to actually help our kids understand that swimming in floodwaters is dirty.”