PHAPI: Cases of influenza-like illnesses hit plateau

Private hospitals have reported an increase in cases of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) nationwide, although it has since begun plateauing.

Dr. Jose Rene de Grano, the head of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI), said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview on Saturday that they have seen a roughly 10 percent rise in ILI cases since three to four weeks ago, with the majority of these cases being pediatric, geriatric, or with comorbidities.

However, he said that the number of cases is plateauing.

“Majority sa [private hospitals] narereport ay [may spike ng ILIs]… Sa tingin namin mga around 10%, although for the past few days nagkakaroon ng parang plateau na. Hopefully, magtuloy po na plateau yan o pababa na,” he said. 

(The majority of [private hospitals] report [a spike in ILIs]… We think it’s around 10%, although for the past few days, there seems to be a plateau. Hopefully, that plateau will continue or start a downward trend.)

De Grano said that the increase may have been due to the number of patients that are now seeking treatments and consultations.

Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) had reported that there were fewer ILI cases in the first two weeks of October than the last two weeks of September.

The agency has repeatedly stressed that there were no outbreaks, despite class suspensions and local government advisories.

According to De Grano, the majority of ILI cases that hospitals handle are minor, and some patients were told to isolate themselves at home.

Still, De Grano said that some hospitals are almost at capacity due to the influx of patients. 

“Yung pong iba [na hospitals] medyo napupuno. Kaya po medyo mabilis mapuno, di po nila maexpand yung kanilang mga number of beds kasi kulang ang number of nurses. Usually, ang nangyayari, dahil puno na yung mga kama, pag dumating na ang pasyente at nagdadagsa na at di pa narerelease at nadidischarge, napupuno po ang emergency room,” he said.

(The other [hospitals] are starting to fill up. The reason why they’re filling up fast is because they cannot expand the number of beds due to the lack of nurses. Usually, what happens is that because the beds are full, patients arrive without being released or discharged, so the emergency room becomes full.)

“At least 10% po ng bed capacity ay nasa ward… Yun po ang unang napupuno. Kaya naman po [ng private hospitals ang capacity], kaso ang napansin namin mga spillover na po ito na galing sa government facilities, pero nakakayanan pa naman po. Minsan nga lang nadedelay ang kanilang pagpasok sa hospital [o] paga-admit,” he added.

(At least 10% of the bed capacity is in wards… That is what fills up first. The [private hospitals can handle [the capacity], but we noticed that these are spillovers from government facilities, but we can handle it for now. It’s just that there are some delays in admitting them into the hospital.]

De Grano added that although dengue cases have increased, they have not yet reached outbreak levels.

Also, they reported no significant rise in pneumonia-related deaths as well as typhoid and leptospirosis cases. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News