DOH Usec. Eric Tayag | The Source - video Dailymotion

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The Health department assures the public there is nothing to worry about, even as cases of respiratory illness among children surge in northern China.  Filipinos can expect more accessible cancer care as the Philippines opens its first specialty hospital to diagnose and treat cancer patients.  Pinky Webb speaks with Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 Welcome to The Source where we combine the headlines with in-depth conversations with

00:06 the newsmakers themselves. I'm Pinky Webb. Today on the program, the Health Department

00:11 assures the public there's nothing to worry about even as cases of respiratory illness

00:16 among children surge in northern China. Filipinos can expect a more accessible cancer care as

00:22 the Philippines opens its first specialty hospital to diagnose and treat cancer patients.

00:28 Health Under Secretary Eric Tayag joins us in the program. And beat the rush by jump-starting

00:35 your Christmas shopping at a four-day holiday fair opening today. Artofino co-founder Mel

00:41 Francisco and fashion designer Rosana Ocampo tells us more later in the show.

00:57 There is a growing global concern over the surge in the number of children with respiratory

01:02 illnesses including pneumonia in China. Here in the Philippines, the Health Department

01:07 says it is closely coordinating with the Chinese government and the World Health Organization.

01:12 It adds the department is ready if flu-like cases increase in the country. The department

01:18 also notes the WHO has not yet recommended stricter border controls despite the situation

01:24 in China. Let's go straight to the source of the story. We have Health Under Secretary

01:28 Eric Tayag. Eric Tayag, welcome to the source, sir. Thank you so much for your time.

01:31 Good morning, Pinky.

01:33 Good morning, sir. So first, I want to ask you why, number one, why are there so many

01:38 people getting sick nowadays?

01:40 Okay. The Department of Health has been monitoring influenza-like illness wherein a patient can

01:48 present with fever combined with sore throat, cough or colds. Since the start of the year,

01:57 the number of cases has increased. In fact, it's 50% higher than last year. Now in China...

02:05 Sorry, Yusek, did you say 50 or 15?

02:09 15. That's 50%, Pinky. We are close to 200,000 cases this year here in the Philippines. Now,

02:21 we try to confirm if we get samples from these patients, most of them will have influenza

02:29 A or B viruses. The others will be tested positive for COVID.

02:38 So it is...

02:39 In China...

02:40 Okay, go ahead.

02:44 They have relaxed their restrictions in December. And the way they're explaining this now, and

02:52 also can hold true for the Philippines, is that those who were under strict restriction

03:00 would have not developed enough immunity against other viruses or pathogens. That's why when

03:09 the restrictions were relaxed and children went back to school, then we see a number

03:16 of cases from other pathogens other than COVID.

03:23 Got it. But we have the seasonal flu shot, don't we? Does this... Will the seasonal flu

03:30 shot cover whether it be influenza A or influenza B virus?

03:37 It covers influenza A, influenza B, except Pinky that we used to give this only to senior

03:44 citizens. And like in other countries where in children are given influenza vaccines.

03:51 Okay. So when... Doesn't the WHO come up with the influenza shot yearly or is this twice

04:01 a year?

04:02 It's given every year. That's because they have to change the formulation because the

04:12 particular circulating strain is being monitored. In fact, we send samples to collaborating

04:18 centers of the World Health Organization as our contribution in the production of these

04:25 influenza vaccines every year.

04:27 Right. And basically what it is, Dr. Tayagis, that they determine which virus I guess would

04:32 be the prevalent one?

04:37 Except that in China, they have reported that there's another bacteria causing this respiratory

04:43 illness in children. It's mycoplasma pneumoniae. We have the capacity to confirm this if it's

04:53 really mycoplasma pneumoniae. But then again, we just got news that aside from China, Netherlands

05:02 has reported also similar cases in that country.

05:07 Hold on. Just to be clear about this, Dr. Tayag, this mycoplasma pneumoniae, that is

05:15 different from the usual influenza A and influenza B virus?

05:20 Yes. This is not a virus. This is a bacteria and antibiotics can work, except that in China,

05:29 there's a high drug resistance rate for mycoplasma.

05:35 Is that because of what you explained earlier?

05:37 Because of the nature of mycoplasma pneumoniae, it doesn't have a cell wall and most antibiotics

05:49 work against the bacteria because of the cell wall. And mycoplasma doesn't have this and

05:57 it easily incorporates to our cells. That's why even after treatment, they linger around

06:04 for weeks. Patients may have cough that persists for weeks. That's the mycoplasma pneumoniae.

06:15 It's also called the walking pneumonia because even if you have pneumonia on just a day,

06:21 you continue to feel well, not so bad, except that a few may be hospitalized with complications.

06:30 In fact, I'd like to share that I have had people quite close to me who've had this flu-like

06:37 system, not treated though, but it lasted for, it was a really bad cough and lasted

06:43 for even more than two weeks. Would these be the symptoms of this walking pneumonia

06:49 or this mycoplasma pneumoniae?

06:51 I think it's possible because in many surveys involved with this pathogen, 40% of those

07:02 who catch a community acquired pneumonia, I mean, would be secondary to mycoplasma pneumoniae.

07:11 All right, we lost Undersecretary Tayag there on the line. We're going to try to get him

07:18 back on air as we talk about why so many people right now are actually getting the flu. And

07:25 the problem is there's been a reinfection even among children. We're going to talk about

07:31 that after the break. This is The Source on CNN Philippines. Please stay tuned.

07:40 You're watching The Source on CNN Philippines. I'm Pinky Webb. Our source today, Health

07:43 Undersecretary Eric Tayag. So to summarize, what I want to find out is, is this mycoplasma

07:50 pneumoniae, is that already, has that been recorded here in the country?

07:54 That has been recorded in the country, except that today or even years in the past, this

08:03 is not a regular pathogen that physicians would actually request from their laboratory

08:13 or look for. If they suspect it, they already give the antibiotics suited for it.

08:20 How contagious is this?

08:23 So contagious that even before symptoms appear like cough, once it's infected, it can already

08:31 transmit it to another person via close contact.

08:35 From what I'm trying to recall now from the past, the virus is the more contagious one.

08:40 Is it because it's airborne and like a bacteria?

08:45 This is also a pathogen or a microbe that can be spread or transmitted through respiratory

08:55 means.

08:56 So can one actually find out that you're positive for this mycoplasma pneumoniae?

09:01 Yes, there's a test after a swab, just like for COVID-19, except that only a few laboratories

09:08 can actually do this.

09:10 And if you're positive, for example, are you supposed to isolate yourself?

09:15 Yes, that's a common sense protection for others who live in the same household. So

09:23 mycoplasma pneumoniae can be prevalent in closed settings like schools, prisons, home

09:31 households.

09:32 So it behaves like COVID?

09:37 It is, except that it has the label of walking pneumonia.

09:42 Walking pneumonia because you feel all right, except for COVID, it can easily progress to

09:51 something that's terrible.

09:52 Yeah, that's true.

09:53 Yousef, what about the possibility of reinfection?

09:57 I've seen some people who get sick.

09:59 I don't know which, if this is just a regular flu influenza or this mycoplasma, but there's

10:05 been a lot of people that's been reinfected after five or seven days.

10:11 Mycoplasma is notorious for reinfection. In fact, even after treatment, it can linger

10:17 for weeks. And that's when patients who are infected with this bacteria would complain

10:23 of a cough that has been with them for even four or more weeks.

10:30 So will antibiotics work?

10:35 Antibiotics work except for children that's in A. So it's a big concern if younger children

10:41 are affected. And we're now checking the resistance rate for this antibiotics against mycoplasma

10:51 because it can be a concern.

10:55 All right. Then just shifting topics, how is the COVID situation now in the country,

11:00 sir?

11:01 We are still reporting COVID cases. There has been no update for COVID cases in ICU.

11:10 That's a good sign. And we have people still going for testing if they suspect if they

11:19 have COVID. And that's a good sign, too.

11:21 All right. And I just want to bring this up, sir, because the president recently inaugurated

11:26 this, the country's first cancer hospital. Excuse me, last week, it's called the Healthway

11:33 Cancer Care Hospital. Again, it's located in Taguig City. I guess, tell us about how

11:39 this can help. Well, number one, accessibility in terms of accessibility and financial considerations

11:45 for those suffering or who are inflicted with cancer.

11:49 PQ number one, cancer is not the second leading cause of death. Number two, the Department

11:56 of Health spends billions so that we can provide necessary cancer treatment either through

12:07 field health or through our cancer treatment program. It will help so many, except that

12:15 now, what the Department of Health has planned is to have several cancer centers in many

12:23 of our third level hospitals so that we can meet the demand as fast as we can.

12:30 You know, the president, when he gave the speech, when this was inaugurated, I think

12:36 he said it was the third killer in the Philippines. And you're saying this is the second one?

12:44 Yes, it is. It's the second one following heart diseases.

12:50 Health Under Secretary Eric Tayag, sir, pleasure to have you. Thank you so much for your time.

12:55 Thank you.

12:57 And when we return, we're going to talk about over a hundred thoughtfully curated local

13:01 brands come together for Artofino's four-day fair ahead of the holiday season. We'll speak

13:06 to Artofino co-founder Mel Francisco and fashion designer Rosano Ocampo in just a bit. We'll

13:12 be right back.

13:14 (upbeat music)

13:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]

DOH Usec. Eric Tayag | The Source

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