The small city of Kabankalan in Negros Occidental was in the news recently, after its health office declared a measles outbreak in the city. Kabankalan joins three other cities: Taguig City, Davao City, and Zamboanga as places where measles outbreaks have been declared. As the public deals with the news about the Dengvaxia controversy, the Department of Health cites the …

The dengue vaccine, also known as Dengvaxia, has been in the headlines the past few weeks. This stems from an earlier announcement of Sanofi Pasteur that the vaccine can cause severe disease for those who have not had dengue. In response to this, the Philippine government called for an investigation into the inclusion of the vaccine in the country’s national …

Two weeks after the outbreak of bird flu in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, the Department of Health (DOH) has declared that there are no more suspected human cases of the disease in the country. This comes after the tests of the seven cases being monitored came back negative. According to a report in Manila Bulletin, DOH Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial …

The Department of Health wants to help smokers kick the habit, through the new DOH Quitline. The Quitline allows smokers to call a hotline, where they can speak to counselors from the Lung Center of the Philippines. It is part of the department’s Smoking Cessation Program. According to the Inquirer, the program is being implemented in partnership with the World …

The Department of Health launched the whole month of May as Hypertension Awareness Month. Part of the campaign is to screen the blood pressure of 1.7 million Filipinos for the whole month. According to an Inquirer report, the department wants to raise public awareness about the dangers of high blood pressure. Hypertension is the culprit behind over 200,000 deaths yearly, …