INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
BACOLOD CITY — Seven individuals were diagnosed with cholera in Negros Occidental, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday, September 29.
Five are residents of Silay City while Victorias and EB Magalona towns recorded one cholera case each.
One of them died.
Lacson said the number of cholera cases in Silay can be alarming.
“The numbers are considered small citywide, but if we don’t do anything about it, it can spread,” he said.
He said Silay officials are doing everything to stop the rise of cholera cases.
Lacson reiterated his call for local governments to check water sources, including water refilling stations.
Silay Mayor Joedith Gallego said a cholera outbreak has been declared in Guinhalaran where three cases were reported, including one death.
EB Magalona Mayor Marvin Malacon, for his part, said they already checked the water sources and warned residents to take extra precautions against cholera.
“We advised the residents to make sure their food and water are clean, and when in doubt, boil their drinking water, or subject it to chlorination,” he said.
Malacon said he will call a meeting with the Local Drinking Water Committee on Monday to discuss ways to stop the cholera cases in EB Magalona.
“We will also call a meeting with the owners and operators of water refilling stations in the municipality to discuss this matter and urge them to have their water regularly subjected to bacteriological testing,” he added.