DIPHTHERIA IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 
By Drs. Linorio GoMEz, AMANDO M. KAPAUAN, and CATALINO GAVINO 
Diphtheria is not a frequent disease in the Philippine Islands, 
but it has been apparently on the increase in the last few years 
or else it is beginning to be more widely recognized. It was 
thought advisable, therefore, to give a brief description of the 
disease as it occurs in the Islands, based on data obtained 
from the records of the Philippine Health Service, the San 
Lazaro Hospital, the department of pathology of the University 
of the Philippines, the Bureau of Science, and from personal 
observations. 
INCIDENCE 
Practically all the data regarding the incidence of the disease 
are drawn from the Health Service statistics for the city of 
Manila, as the reports from the provinces are rather incomplete 
and unreliable. The following figures (Table 1), taken from 
the annual reports of the Director of the Philippine Health 
Service, .cover the period from 1900 to 1918 and indicate cases 
and deaths that are either positive clinically only or positive 
clinically and bacteriologically. 
TABLE 1.—Diphtheria in Manila. 
{From reports of the Bureau of Health.] 
Fiscal year. Cases. |Deaths, Fiscal year. Cases. |Deaths. 
TOO co ecw tane on 1 St ee a a ae eae 28 10 
Bh Dune Ses 0 sf age > W Bb ante Sse aeons gaara 25 16 
tee bce siege 4 ry is: Paeee cca! Se id anaes 49| 17 
190B sechcre . cuarumes- secicac 2 2 | 1918 ere cwe fe tas Bees soon, E+. 49 
NOOR i asd ccc catihs iaeteee 4 ll ADI cake evides aeuntanccisance 38 13 
TOOG no es ee oe sa cneue 7 1 l| AUAOaeee ee bnOk ele eal ola nae 59 23 
(MG ee 8 =e at > | Sl a ER dk ER eee GAS 114 80 
T0070 oe epee cans onsen cs 16 45 AOL cc es eumcecenwe ds cide bak 79 27 
eo as as eco 18 Ot sees ae a ed 45 15 
1909_-------------- ss 7 0 Wee 504} 199 
a Last six months of the year. 
The disease occurs sporadically, not any one district of Ma- 
nila being particularly affected. It does not seem to be very 
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