Detainees’ health in jails checked due to water crisis

Officials on Sunday said they were closely monitoring the health of hundreds of thousands of detainees in the congested jails due to the water crisis that is afflicting Metro Manila and other areas to prevent an outbreak particularly of dermatitis and other skin ailments.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque also appealed to affected residents to be cautious on how to store water to prevent a possible outbreak of dengue warning that even a small amount of water, like a botle cap could serve as a breeding groumd for the mosquito variety Aedes aegypti that causes the dreaded ailment.

“We just have to monitor. We have to proactively send our personnel to the closely monitor the situation in our congested jail facilities in Metro Manila and other areas suffering from the acute water lack,” Duque pointed out.

He explained that inmates in congested detention facilities usually suffer from boils, scabies, upper respiratory infection, skin asthma and heat rash in aummer due to lack of water that compromises sanitation and hygiene.

At the same time, Duque cited data from the health department’s Epidemiology Bureau which indicated that as of March 2, there were already 40,000 614 cases of dengue nationwide, with 150 deaths.

The figure, he said, was 68 percent higher compared to the same period in 2018 when there were a total of 24,231 dengue cases and 118 deaths, with Central Visayas topping the list followed by Central Luzon and the National Capital Region, more popularly known as Metro Manila composed of 15 cities and one town with a total population of 12 million.

As Duque cautioned against dengue, he also reminded residents dependent on water rations to ensure that they boil their water before consuming it as well as government hospitals hit by the crisis to test the water being delivered to them.

“The last thing we want is to have an outbreak of diarrhea and gastroenteritis,” he said, pointing out that unlike before, such hospitals were given top priority in the rationing of water in the affected areas.