Diarrhea outbreak in Davao possibly caused by water contamination due to flooding
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 18 July) — The recent flooding possibly contaminated the city’s water system and caused the diarrhea outbreak that hit 12 barangays in the city’s Toril District, City Health Office (CHO) chief Dr. Ashley Lopez said on Monday.
In an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio, Lopez said 43 cases had been reported as of 10:00 p.m. Sunday, but added the situation has been put under control.
He identified the affected areas as Barangays Bato, Toril Proper, Crossing Bayabas, Lubogan, Mulig, Daliao Plantation, and Tungkalan for Toril A, and Daliao North, Daliao South, Lizada Fish Port, Lizada Kurbada, and Binugaw for Toril B.
He said the CHO suspected it was caused either by water contamination or food poisoning.
He said that it was likely that the recent flooding might have contaminated the water system, although some patients also claimed that symptoms of diarrhea started manifesting after they ate street food and tapioca dessert peddled by vendors.
“The primary consideration right now is water because of the situation. Rains caused some flooding recently, and it could possibly contaminate our water system,” he said.
But Lopez added that if the cause was water contamination, the number of cases would have been higher since only the Davao City Water District is supplying water to the households in Toril.
He said rectal swabs of the patients have been taken to the Southern Philippines Medical Center on Monday for laboratory examination to determine the cause of diarrhea.
In an advisory, the city government told residents of Toril to avoid drinking or using tap water for food preparation without boiling it for 10 minutes, use purified or bottled water for consumption, if possible, and frequently wash hands thoroughly with soap and water.
Meanwhile, Lopez said the city government is awaiting the result of the water analysis conducted by DCWD last Sunday but he encouraged the residents to sterilize the water if they are drinking from the faucet.
“Some experts say you have to extend the heating by at least one minute – the range is between 1 and 10 minutes – so that the bacteria causing the infection will eventually die due to the boiling,” he said.
He said the local government is expecting the result of the rectal swab on Tuesday but added there is one confirmed case of amoebiasis among the patients.
Out of the total cases, 24 were admitted to St. John of the Cross Hospital, eight to Davao Mediquest Hospital, two to Ernesto Guadalupe Community Hospital, and nine are for verification, he said.
The youngest case is a six-month-old patient, he said
He said the first case was reported at St. John of the Cross Hospital last July 15 but more admissions due to loose stools were noted in private hospitals in Toril on Sunday.
“For now, what we can confirm is that there is an outbreak but what we cannot confirm yet is if this was caused by bacteria, water contamination, or food poisoning,” he said.
He said that if the analysis would point to food poisoning, the local government would take some measures, including dialogue and reorientation seminars for street food vendors on food handling. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
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