The Department of Health has conceded that there have been cases of “hand, foot and mouth disease” (HFMD) sa Metro Manila — pero ayon msa kagawaran, “wala pang idinedeklarang outbreak sa ngayon.”

This was promised by DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire in a media event on Tuesday, after she stated that 155 cases of HFMD were diagnosed in Manila between October and December 6, 2022.

The majority of them are children aged 11 and under. Fortunately, no fatalities have been reported in recent Metro Manila incidents.

“Wala po tayong idinedeklarang outbreak para sa hand, foot and mouth disease. Hindi po siya nangyari na isahan lang. Nangyari po siya over the span of two or three months dito po sa National Capital Region,”

“We are seeing an increase in cases ‘pag tinignan natin for these past weeks ng hand, foot and mouth disease. Pero wala po tayong trigger… enough basis for our local governments to declare outbreaks in their area.”

“These are all manageable and preventable.”

Only a few days ago, 1,008 HFMD cases were discovered in Batangas, omitting 541 instances of the fatal disease in Albay.

Vergeire stated that their agency received word this morning of HFMD cases in Sta. Mesa, but they claim they haven’t logged it in official records yet to verify. 

‘Pag tinignan natin, ‘yung kaso po [sa Sta. Mesa] ay galing sa isang post ng isang doktor. Wala naman siyang binigay talaga na actual na number. Sinabi lang niya marami siyang nakikita,” the DOH official added.