THE City Health Office of Cagayan de Oro denied that there were recorded leptospirosis cases in the city recently.
There were no recorded leptospirosis cases reflected in any of the death certificates received by City Health Office personnel as of this time and thus such reports have yet to be verified, according to the City Information Office in a January 20 statement.
Nevertheless, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy had ordered city economic enterprises manager Marianne Ragas and city health officer Claire Paglinawan to investigate the matter.
Earlier on January 19 as she was presiding their weekly session, Vice Mayor Jocelyn Rodriguez reported that she received a letter claiming that ten persons who frequented the fish section of Cogon public market died of leptospirosis recently.
Rodriguez then directed the committees on health and city economic enterprises to hold a meeting on the matter and invite the City Health Office and the Department of Health (DOH) to shed light about it.
Councilor Edgar Cabanlas – city economic enterprises committee chair – expressed surprise upon the report.
“It’s quite weird. Usually it happens during floods,” Cabanlas said.
It can be recalled that sometime last year, Cabanlas led a team from City Hall to flush the whole interiors of Cogon public market.
The city government will conduct a press conference January 21 on the matter.
Leptospirosis is a blood infection that is spread mostly by rodents’ urine to humans via water coming into contact with skin openings.
Incubation can be as long as a month but is treatable with antibiotics.
Since it is treatable, mortality rate in the Philippines is very low at only nine percent as according to a 2024 DOH report.
