School execs asked to check water sources amid cholera rise

BACOLOD CITY—Education officials in Western Visayas have directed the 21 schools divisions in the region to check the water sources in their respective schools as a measure against cholera amid a rise in cases of the acute diarrheal disease in Negros Occidental province.

“Learners and teachers should not use the water in schools for drinking,” said Ramir Uytico, director of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas.

Ian Arnold Arnaez, Negros Occidental Schools Division spokesperson, said Dr. Joey Villarosa, their medical officer, informed him that cholera precautions have already been incorporated in the division’s procedures for School Based Management of Water Sanitation and Hygiene.

He said operators and workers of canteens in elementary and secondary schools in the province were also required to submit their sanitation permits and health cards to ensure the safety of students and their teaching and nonteaching staff.

“The DepEd water and food sanitation drive is in coordination with the local government units,” he added.

As of Monday, Negros Occidental has recorded 28 cholera cases, health officials in the province said.

For chlorination

In the capital Bacolod City, where separate 21 cholera cases were reported as of last Friday, the city government shut down for chlorination on Nov. 11 a total of 12 wells in Purok (subvillage) Luhod-luhod, Barangay Mandalagan.

Dr. Grace Tan, head of the City Health Office’s Environmental Sanitation Division, said the chlorination was conducted to ensure that water was safe for residents after one well in Purok Luhod-luhod was found positive for the cholera-causing Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

The mobile water station of Prime Water was asked by the city government to temporarily supply the needs of the residents of the subvillage.

Luhod-luhod residents were also asking for a Bacolod City Water District-Prime Water connection to their area so they would have permanent access to clean water.

Tan said Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez wanted all communal wells and faucets in Bacolod to be disinfected.

“They (wells) will be temporarily closed down and chlorinated,” she said.

“The target is to test and disinfect the wells, but they don’t need to wait for the results to chlorinate if the sanitation inspectors determine that there is a big chance that the water is contaminated,” she added.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. People can get sick when they swallow food or water contaminated with the cholera bacteria. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

About one in 10 people with cholera will experience severe symptoms, which, in the early stages, include profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, thirst, leg cramps, restlessness or irritability.

—CARLA P. GOMEZ INQ