The Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday that leptospirosis cases decreased by 77 percent to 396 (August 11 to 24) from 1,726 (July 28 to August 10).
The figure decreased to just 124 cases (August 25 to September 7), but the Health Department clarified that this figure may still change pending incoming reports due to recent inclement weather.
According to DOH, only three regions in the past six weeks saw increasing cases: Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
A total of 4,575 cases were reported nationwide as of September 7. This figure is 11 percent higher than the 4,112 cases in the same period last year. Despite the increase, the fatality rate standing at 393 individuals is 17 percent lower than the 475 deaths recorded in the same period the previous year.
The Health Department thanked the Metro Manila Council for Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Regulation No. 24-003, s. 2024, which prohibits swimming, playing, gallivanting, unnecessary wading, or any other leisurely/unsuitable activities in floodwaters.
It urged the public to maintain good hygiene, properly care for wounds, avoid contact with floodwaters as much as possible, wear protective footwear, and wash exposed skin to reduce the risk of infection from leptospirosis.
