The Department of Health on Tuesday urged the public not to panic following news that Mexican actor Manuel Masalva, best known for his role in Netflix's 'Narcos: Mexico', is in critical condition after contracting a dangerous bacterial infection after visiting the Philippines.

Speaking to TeleRadyo Serbisyo, DOH spokesman Albert Domingo confirmed the 44-year-old celebrity was placed in a medically induced coma after traveling from the Philippines to Dubai. 

Masalva visited the Philippines last March 14 before flying to Dubai on March 18. His manager Jaime Jaramillo Espinosa told the Los Angeles Times  Masalva “began to feel internal discomfort and pain which increased by the day” just 2 days after arriving in Dubai.

“Ang unang tanong namin - anong bacteria? Ayon sa kanyang mga publicist, galing sa Philippines pero sana sinabi po kung anong klaseng bacteria, saan niya nakuha,” Domingo said.

The spokesperson said the public need not panic amid reports that Masalva is responding to antibiotics.

He noted Masalva could have contracted food poisoning or had swum in the ocean with an open wound. 

He said DOH has already contacted health units in tourist spots in the country “and we have not received reports of a similar case thus far.”