TABUK CITY, Kalinga–Health authorities in the province will conduct intensive case investigation on Japanese encephalitis following the reported death of one patient.
Provincial Epidemic Surveillance Officer Jose Pardito Jr said another patient was also diagnosed but survived. The micro-test samples of the two were separately taken in Tuguegarao, Cagayan and Baguio City, and were referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Pardito disclosed the investigation includes tracking of travel origin of the patients and site inquiries right where the two live to know if there are other patients who contracted the disease.
Last year, another death case from Japanese Encephalitis in the province was reported in Pinukpuk municipality.
Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease originating from pigs and transferred by ordinary mosquitoes to humans. Patients manifest headache, fever, swelling of the brain and motor difficulty.
As preventive move, Pardito called on barangay officials and residents to hold massive clean-up drives especially with the onset of the rains, when cases of mosquito-borne ailments are expected to rise.** PIA Kalinga
