DAGUPAN CITY — The City Health Office (CHO) here has appealed to higher health authorities to replenish its supply of Doxycycline, an antibiotic used against leptospirosis.
City health officer Dr. Ophelia Rivera said in an interview Tuesday that the CHO only has 50 boxes or 5,000 capsules of Doxycycline remaining.
“We already requested the Department of Health’s Regional Office and the Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Pangasinan has also pledged to give us Doxycycline,” Rivera said.
Since flooding began in Dagupan City, the first locality in the province to be placed under a state of calamity, the CHO has distributed a total of 220 boxes or 22,000 capsules of Doxycycline, she said.
The city health officer, however, urged the public to take the medicine properly.
“It should be taken after a meal. Two capsules or equivalent to 200 mg. and once a week only. It is prohibited to pregnant women and children below eight years old. If, however, a person with cuts or wounds was soaked in floodwaters, that person should consult a doctor because he will be taking medication for three to five days. If a child, also with wounds or cuts, was exposed to floodwaters, then the child should be checked by a doctor because he or she needs different antibiotics,” Rivera said.
She also called the attention of barangay officials, especially the barangay health workers, to instruct people on the proper intake of the medicine.
Pangasinan has recorded 45 cases of leptospirosis from Jan. 1 to July 2 this year with 10 deaths, two of whom were from Dagupan City, according to data from the PHO. (Hilda Austria/PNA)
