Diarrhea downs 265 residents in Davao Oriental town

CARAGA, DAVAO ORIENTAL—Local health authorities are alarmed by the outbreak of diarrhea in nine sitios of Barangay Santiago here, affecting 265 residents as of 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31.

Dr. Chris Anthony Limen, Caraga municipal health officer, said they noted the first cases at Sitio Atipo of Santiago village Sunday noon but as of 9 a.m. on Monday, a total of 137 diarrhea cases, including those in other sitios (subvillages) were recorded. Another four hours brought about 15 more cases and as of 2 p.m. on Monday, the number of documented cases surged to 265, covering all nine sitios (subvillages) of Barangay Santiago, Limen said.

“The outbreak is very alarming based on the rate of increase in the number of patients. There are almost 150 cases recorded in less than 48 hours,” he said.

Sitio Atipo, where the first cases were noted, recorded a total of 60 patients, but as of 2 p.m. on Monday, neighboring Sitio Lower Mansanas also logged in 110 cases.

Limen said they were still trying to confirm whether one reported fatality due to dehydration in Barangay Santiago was among the cases.

He also warned villagers not to drink water from their faucets. The Davao Oriental provincial health office confirmed at 2:30 p.m. on Monday that cholera, caused by drinking contaminated water, had caused diarrhea.

Local officials issued calls for help to bring to affected residents the much-needed potable water and drinks to hydrate them.

Cholera had been reported in the area as early as the previous year. The province’s sanitary office had warned that the existing water system had to be rehabilitated as soon as the first cholera cases were reported.

Limen stressed the need for concerted efforts to contain the outbreak.

The local health office has also requested additional health personnel to augment the health workers of the municipality, but the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) in Region-11 has been preoccupied with the preparation for the vaccination of five to 11-year-old children that would start on Tuesday.

Since the local health center could not accommodate all diarrhea patients, Limen said they planned to convert an existing COVID-19 quarantine facility, which also served as an evacuation area, into an infirmary. “We are making a makeshift hospital,” he said, since the town of Caraga, one of the oldest in Davao Oriental has yet to have its own hospital.

The Provincial Health Office of Davao Oriental was also in town to assess the outbreak.

Limen described all patients confined at the Caraga Health Center as “stable.”

“But containing the outbreak is a big challenge because some people, despite our warning against drinking water from their faucets, continue to defy us,” he said. “Worse, some families whose members are already suffering from diarrhea refuse to come out in the open.”

Limen appealed over the radio for help, asking the public to contribute mineral water, hydration salts and drinks for the affected residents, but local pharmacies and stores as of 10 a.m. were running out of supplies. Some local officials had responded.

The water source of Santiago, which has been suspected of having caused the outbreak, is due for rehabilitation, local officials said. The provincial government of Davao Oriental has reportedly allocated P20 million for the rehabilitation project but actual works on the ground have yet to start.