DOH warns vs. heat-related illnesses amid El Niño

The public should brace for heat-related illnesses that may emerge now that a “strong” El Niño phenomenon is being experienced in the country. 

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa cautioned that very young and very old people will most likely be affected by the dry spell that is expected to last until the second quarter of the year. 

“‘Yung heat illness, pwedeng tumindi ‘yun. Syempre may sunburn, meron kang heat exhaustion, parang fatigue na pagod na pagod ka kapag matagal ka sa araw. So, you need to protect yourselves,” he said in a media forum.

(The heat illness may worsen. You can have sunburn and experience heat exhaustion. It's like fatigue or getting very tired when you are under the sun for a long time. So you need to protect yourselves.) 

“Kapag hindi mo pinansin ‘yun at naramdaman mo na heat exhaustion, hindi ka pumasok sa shade or sa aircon, tuloy-tuloy 'yun, magkakaroon ka ng heat stroke,” he continued. 

(When you experience heat exhaustion and you ignore it and don’t go somewhere cooler, you can suffer from heat stroke.) 

Herbosa stressed that those who get unconscious due to heat stroke may die if they do not get revived immediately. 

Water-borne illnesses like acute gastroenteritis, as well as vector-borne diseases like dengue may also be prevalent during the warm weather. 

State weather bureau PAGASA said Monday that a “strong” El Niño phenomenon is currently in effect and will continue to be experienced until February this year. 

El Niño is also likely to persist until the March-April-May season, and transition to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral in the April-May-June season, PAGASA added.

The US' National Weather Service defines ENSO as a "recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean." —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News