Philippines ready to help

by helen FloreS, Pia lee-braGo Philstar.com

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) recorded the first case of the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 is believed to be the most contagious among its types. The DOH’s latest biosurveillance report, which looked at 1,078 samples from January 30 to February 3, found 196 Omicron XBB subvariants, with one being the particularly dangerous XBB.1.5.

It’s a recombinant of the BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 sub-lineages and has already caused substantial harm in the United States due to its immunity evasion properties. Thus, the DOH is warning that this XBB.1.5 variant of COVID-19 carries a higher risk to public health.

by Zacarian Sarao Inquirer.net by Marlon

“The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) classified XBB.1.5, an offshoot of the XBB subvariant, as a Variant of Interest, due to its increasing prevalence globally and enhanced immune evading properties,” the DOH said.

“The variant has been detected in 59 countries across six continents, according to sequence submissions in GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data),” it added.

Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the DOH said u PAGE 2

MANILA — Six to seven percent of babies born to adolescent girls from 2016 to 2020 were fathered by men 10 years older than the mothers, while a majority of teen moms’ male sexual partners were three to five years older than them, according to government data presented to the senate on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The numbers from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) gave senators, policymakers and public health advocates a picture of the alarming rise of adolescent pregnancies in the Philippines, many of which involve

MANILA — The Philippine embassy in Ankara said no Filipino was reported killed in the earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border early Monday, February 6.

“The embassy continues to reach out to the Filipino communities and its other contacts in the region and, as of this writing, has not received reports of Filipino casualties in the provinces of Gaziantep, Hatay, Adana and Mersin,” the embassy said in a statement.

President Marcos offered his condolences and support to the governments of Turkey and Syria after a powerful earthquake rocked the region Monday, killing over 1,300 people.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to the peoples and governments of Türkiye and Syria following the strong earthquake that has claimed many lives and caused massive destruction to their countries. The Philippines is ready to help in whatever way it can in responding to this disaster,” Marcos said in a post