By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

Health officials in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) of northern Luzon in the Philippines have reported a decrease in incidence in 20 out of 21 monitored infectious diseases due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts like lockdown and quarantine, the government-run Philippine News Agency reports.

Image/Howard the Duck

For the first 49 weeks of 2020, dengue fever cases were reported at a decrease of 89 percent or from 9,457 cases in 2019 to 1,004 cases in 2020, while measles was down  62 percent from 1,059 cases last year to 395 cases this year.

Other infectious diseases seeing a decreased incidence include –leptospirosis 38 percent, typhoid fever 73 percent, rabies 80 percent, hand-foot-and-mouth disease 94 percent and chikungunya 98 percent.

Also down is Hepatitis A, B, and C, acute bloody diarrhea, acute viral hepatitis, influenza-like illness, meningococcemia, non-neonatal tetanus, acute encephalitis, flaccid paralysis, meningitis, diphtheria, pertussis including adverse effect following immunization.

Geenie Anne Austria, Nurse V at the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of the DOH-CAR said, “Person to person transmission and spread of the disease was prevented because the people stayed home.”

Austria also attributed the decrease incidence in the above diseases and many others to the consciousness of people to boost their immune system and their regular practice of handwashing and sanitation.

Anthrax was the only infectious disease out of the 21 that saw an increase incidence.