21 hospitalized because of dirty water

AROUND 21 residents in Dawayan village in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental have experienced vomiting and Loose Bowel Movement (LBM) over the weekend, allegedly due to water contamination.

Health officers are conducting water sampling, surveillance and rectal swab procedure for possible diagnosis of Cholera or Amoebiasis.

Rhanndy Akut, chief of Misamis Oriental Cares (MisOr Cares), said the incident started last Friday, April 20, with two cases until it reached 21 on Sunday.

“Ang LBM ug vomiting sintomas sa mga sakit sama sa cholera ug amoebiasis pero dili pa siya confirm kay wala pay final diagnosis (LBM and vomiting are symptoms of Cholera and Amboebiasis but its not yet confirmed because there is no final diagnosis yet),” Akut said.

Affected residents were admitted to different hospitals in Jasaan and Tagoloan towns and Cagayan de Oro City.

The MisOr Cares has started collating and profiling the names of affected individuals.

“Previously it was 17 then the PHO (Provincial Health Office) said it was 21 pero wala pa ta names ato pang gi-trace kay allegedly na distribute sila sa lain-laing hospital (We are still tracing the patients who were admitted in different hospitals),” Akut said.

Authorities suspect that the incident was due to water contamination, prompting the sanitary inspectors of the local government unit to close the artesian well to administer chlorination procedure.

The artesian well is the primary source of water in the community.

About 30 households were affected in the closure.

However, Akut said the Provincial Government has already tapped the provincial fire department to facilitate the rationing of water to the affected households.

The Provincial Health Office also conducted an education drive to inform and educated residents on how to boil water for consumption.

Fernando Dy Jr., Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) officer, said the incident is not yet an outbreak.

“Dili siya outbreak kay isa ra ka sityo ang affected unya gamay ra mga lomolopyo (Its not yet an outbreak because there is only one affected community with small population),” he said.