Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso has ordered an aggressive city-wide campaign against leptospirosis, ordering health center workers to go door-to-door in their communities instead of waiting for patients to come in.
This was the directive of Domagoso as the city recorded a dramatic surge in infections following the recent habagat flooding.
Prior to his “Talk to the People” Facebook livestream, the mayor convened an emergency meeting with OIC-City Health Officer Dr. Grace Padilla and the seven city district hospital directors to discuss the surge and align on the city’s response.
Immediately after, he met with City Public Information Officer Julius Leonen and the designated information officers of city government departments, bureaus, and offices to mobilize an aggressive public information campaign across all channels.
“Ibaliktad natin yung sitwasyon: na hindi na tayo ang hanapin, tayo na ang humanap sa mga posibleng na-expose sa baha at nakararamdam ng ilang sintomas ng impeksyon ng leptospirosis,” Domagoso said during the livestream.
The city recorded 89 new leptospirosis cases on August 26 alone—up from 38 on August 25, 16 on August 24, 10 on August 23, 11 on August 22, 22 on August 21, and 11 on August 20—bringing the total new cases for the week to 197.
Five patients have died from leptospirosis this week—one on August 24, two on August 25, and two more on August 26.
“Ako ay taos-pusong nakikiramay sa limang pamilya ng mga sumakabilang-buhay ito lamang pong linggong ito,” he said.
Domagoso warned that the surge is expected to continue rising, as leptospirosis has a two-week incubation period.
This means those exposed to floodwaters during the August 17–18 habagat are only now beginning to show symptoms.
“Posibleng lumaki kung ganito ang escalation, nahihinog pa lang ho ang impeksyon.”
“Patuloy pa itong lalaki. Posibleng lumaki kung ganito ang escalation, nahihinog pa lang ho ang impeksyon,” he said.
Domagoso announced that the city now has 389,000 doxycycline capsules available city-wide — a significant increase from the 51,000 remaining capsules as of August 24 — after donations poured in from the private sector of 40,000 capsules, and the Department of Health (DOH) of 300,000 additional capsules.
“Sa mga taga-lungsod ng Maynila, mahirap, middle class, mayaman, meron po tayo at pwede niyong ma-access yung 389,000 doxycycline capsules.”
“Sa mga taga-lungsod ng Maynila, mahirap, middle class, mayaman, meron po tayo at pwede niyong ma-access yung 389,000 doxycycline capsules,” he said.
He urged residents who were exposed to floodwaters to take doxycycline immediately at any of the city’s 44 health centers or seven district hospitals, free of charge, even without symptoms.
Domagoso also flagged that the Ospital ng Maynila’s emergency room, with a bed capacity of 40, was already handling 69 patients as of Wednesday morning, nearly double its capacity.
“Kahit gaano kalaki yung emergency room ng Ospital ng Maynila, I can honestly say that our situation is we are now being overwhelmed by the infection ng ating mga pasyente na infected ng leptospirosis,” he said.
To decongest the emergency rooms, the city has activated the Manila Infectious Disease Control Center (MIDCC) at Santa Ana Hospital, which has a 17-bed capacity for leptospirosis patients — 10 of which were already occupied as of Wednesday.
Domagoso also directed the opening of additional wards in other city hospitals to accommodate the surge.
He noted that 20 percent of emergency room patients are non-Manileños, as residents from neighboring cities have been seeking treatment at Manila’s hospitals.
Domagoso reminded the public that patients may experience delays in the emergency room given the current surge.
Domagoso called on the public to watch for early symptoms—fever, severe headache, muscle pain, and reddening of the eyes—and to seek medical attention immediately rather than resorting to self-medication.
“Huwag niyong panghinayangan ‘yung kikitain natin sa pagpasok sa trabaho, kasi pera lang ‘yan. Balewala po lahat ‘yan pagka huli na ang lahat,” he concluded.
