MANILA — Cases of cholera in the Philippines nearly quadrupled in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to last year, based on Department of Health data released Tuesday.

The country logged 3,729 cholera cases since January, compared to the 976 cases for the entire 2021, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.

From Aug. 28 to Sept. 24 alone, the agency recorded 254 cholera cases, with Eastern Visayas, Bicol Region and Western Visayas tallying the highest number of cases. Children between the ages of 5 and 9 were the most commonly affected, the DOH said.

“The most common cause would be unsafe drinking water. We know na tag-ulan ngayon maraming pagbaha, maraming napupunta rin sa mga evacuation centers natin and because of these kinds of calamities yung mga water systems mostly affected lagi,” she said.

(We know that during the rainy season, there is a lot of flooding, many go to evacuation centers and because of these kinds of calamities, our water systems are almost always affected.)

Cholera is caused by consuming food or drinking of water contaminated with human waste. Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and rapid dehydration, according to the DOH website.

While treatable, cholera can be fatal, said Vergeire.

“Ang cholera kapag hindi naagapan, nagkakaroon ng severe dehydration ang mga pasyente lalong-lalo na kung ang pasyenteng may cholera ay immunocompromised o vulnerable sila. Lalo na yung mga bata less than 5 years old o di kaya kapag tinamaan ang matanda, mas mataas ang risk or probability of dying from cholera,” she said.

(When left untreated, cholera leads to severe dehydration, especially if the patient is immunocompromised or vulnerable. There is a higher risk or probability of dying from cholera especially among children less than 5 years old or the elderly.)

So far, 33 deaths have been confirmed to be linked to cholera. At least 14 deaths from the disease occurred in the last 3 months, the DOH said.

Central Luzon, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas have exceeded their cholera threshold based on data from the most recent surveillance period, the agency added.

But Vergeire said the decision to declare an outbreak is up to the local government, based on the number of cases, their resources and capacity to contain the transmission.

“Sa ngayon wala pang nagde-declare kasi manageable pa naman yung kanilang nakukuhang kaso sa ngayon. Hindi po yan pangmalawakan na pang national po tayo. ‘Pag nag-involve na tayo ng mas marami pang rehiyon diyan, that’s the time that the national government comes in to manage and also to declare,” Vergeire said.

(So far, no area has declared an outbreak because cases are still manageable. It is not yet widespread. Once more regions are involved, that’s the time that the national government comes in to manage and also to declare.)

UNWELCOME COMEBACK

The World Health Organization earlier said that it saw a “worrying upsurge of cholera outbreaks around the globe over the past year”, with at least 27 countries reporting outbreaks.

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“Although cholera can kill within hours, it can be prevented with vaccines and access to safe water and sanitation, and can be treated easily with oral rehydration or antibiotics for more severe cases,” said WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.

An international stockpile of cholera vaccines was created in 2013. Last year, 27 million doses were shipped around the globe. But with the increasing number of outbreaks, the world body says “supply cannot keep up with demand.”

“Cholera is deadly, but it’s also preventable and treatable, with the right planning and action, we can reverse this trend,” Ghebreyesus said.

Aside from contaminated water, cholera thrives on poverty and conflict. But the disease is now also being “turbo-charged by climate change,” the WHO said.

Extreme weather events such floods, typhoons and droughts are inevitably reducing the access of vulnerable families to clean and potable water and instead create an ideal environment for cholera to further spread.

• WHO warns against 'silent killer' climate change

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