150 diarrhea, gastroenteritis cases reported in Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Siargao
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) said Monday it has received reports of at least 150 cases of diarrhea and gastroenteritis in Cebu, the Dinagat Islands, and Siargao which were all hit by Typhoon Odette.
The DOH said they received reports of 16 diarrhea cases in Cebu, 80 acute gastroenteritis in Dinagat Islands, and 54 diarrhea cases in Siargao District Hospital.
In an online media briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said epidemiology teams have been deployed to identify what caused the cases of diarrhea and gastroenteritis in the affected areas.
“Gastroenteritis can be caused by a number of organisms, pwedeng bacteria, pwedeng virus, pwedeng ‘yung iba pang sanhi galing sa mga organismo. Kailangan natin matukoy kung ano ang source nito para tayo ay makapagbigay ng appropriate medications,” Vergeire explained.
(Gastroenteritis can be caused by a number of organisms like bacteria and viruses. We need to identify the source of contamination so we can provide appropriate medication.)
“Itong mga areas na ito ay apektado ng typhoon. Nagkaroon ng water interruptions sa kanilang mga lugar. ‘Yung iba may tubig na dumadaloy ngunit nasira ‘yung pipes nila sa mga pinagkakabitan so may mga possible na kontamisyon dahil nasira or nagbreak yung pipes nila underground so ‘yan po ang tinitingnan natin,” she added.
(These areas were affected by the typhoon. They experienced water interruptions. In some areas, water is flowing but their pipes were destroyed so there is possible contamination. We are looking at that.)
Vergeire assured that all the patients are now being attended to by their local government units and by the various DOH regional offices. She said some were brought to hospitals while some are being treated in their homes or in temporary shelters.
Based on the situational report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council as of Monday, a total of 18 cities and municipalities have experienced water supply outages or interruptions in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), Northern Mindanao, and Caraga due to Typhoon Odette. The report showed that the water supply was restored in only one city.
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