Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Two more patients with the Zika virus have been recorded, pushing the number of locally transmitted Zika cases to 19, the Department of Health (DOH) announced on Friday.
The new cases are a female adult and male child from the Cavite province. Due to government protocol, the DOH cannot disclose if they are related or belong to the same village.
However, they said the two are being monitored from home after undergoing the necessary medical exams.
The announcement was made at a national summit on Zika in Pasay City, where DOH met with health workers and local officials. The event was aimed to raise awareness on the mosquito-borne virus.
“The similarity of the same signs and symptoms with other diseases makes it even more challenging to doctors to come up with a diagnosis,” said Dr. Ireneo Bernardo, President of the Philippine Medicine Association.
He added that they needed to be equipped with information to diagnose well given limited resources in the country.
“Admittedly, there are still a lot of things that we still don’t know, and we also like people to know that, so that we’ll all be part (of) getting information and knowledge about this disease,” DOH Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo said.
The diagnosis comes after the discovery of two other Zika cases in Metro Manila earlier this month.
Read: DOH records two new cases of Zika from Metro Manila
Other Zika cases were recorded in Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas. The first pregnant case was found in Cebu.
Although Zika is transmitted through mosquito bites, pregnant mothers can pass the virus on to their babies. Symptoms include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, malaise, muscle and joint pain, and headaches.
CNN Philippines Correspondent David Santos contributed to this report.
