Health Risks Brief: 2025 3rd Quarter

Executive Summary

Health-Related Laws, Policies, and Regulations

• On September 12, 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the Republic Act (RA) No. 12290, creating the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines (VIP). The institution will serve as the country’s national research center, focusing on the study of viruses, pathogens, and therapeutics for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases that affect plants, animals, and humans.
• The United States (US) government recently pledged USD 250 million (PHP 13.8 billion) in new foreign assistance to the Philippines to help strengthen its health systems. The initiative focuses on improving key areas such as disease detection and response, maternal and child health, and healthcare infrastructure.

Local Disease Updates

• The Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 4,859 leptospirosis cases nationwide since the onset of the rainy season in June 2025, with infections peaking after successive typhoons and the effects of the southwest monsoon. Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease transmitted through contact with floodwater contaminated by infected animal urine, has been classified by health authorities as one of the top rainy season-related illnesses in the country.
• The Department of Health (DOH) recorded a total of 15,161 dengue cases nationwide from July 20 to August 2, 2025, a 2 percent increase from the previous reporting period. The rise coincides with heavy rains and flooding brought by the southwest monsoon and recent tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong. Health authorities remain on heightened alert for a possible surge as wet conditions persist across the country.

International Disease Updates

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has lifted the Public Health Emergency on International Concern (PHEIC) on Mpox, after experts noted decreasing infections in Africa. The PHEIC alert was previously raised by WHO in August 2024, after the declaration of outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the disease’s spread to neighboring countries. While this is the case, the Mpox remains as a continental health emergency as noted by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Weather and Natural Disaster Health Risks

• The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has seen 14 tropical cyclones so far this year until September, and five to nine more are expected for the remainder of the year. As previously advised by PSA, there is an increased risk of contracting W.I.L.D. diseases: waterborne, influenza, leptospirosis, and dengue diseases during this time. Over the past months, there was an observed increase in these diseases, and these are generally expected to continue.
• Cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) recently increased in different parts of the country. According to data from the Department of Health (DOH) in August 2025, Western Visayas (Region VI) has the highest number of HFMD cases, followed by MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), Central Luzon (Region III), the National Capital Region (NCR), and CALABARZON (Region IV-A). The agency immediately cautioned however against suspecting an outbreak, as improved reporting of cases has been a factor behind the increase in number of cases. DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo reported that most of the 2025 cases logged are considered “suspect” and not laboratory confirmed.