Residents in earthquake areas advised to boil drinking water

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Boil water first, the Philippine Medical Association advised Filipinos in areas hit by the 7.2 magnitude earthquake help ward off possible waterborne diseases.

In a statement issued on Saturday, PMA president Dr. Leo Olarte said diseases brought about by poor sanitation and lack of safe or potable water for earthquake victims could worsen the difficulties that the people in the calamity areas are currently enduring.

“Due to lack of food and the absence of clean drinking water, disaster victims can acquire waterborne and other diseases that can also be as life threatening as the actual physical injuries they may have directly [suffered] from the earthquake,” he said.

He said the victims of the calamity who are isolated and now living in makeshift shelters are exposed to the harsh environment that can lead to various health problems.

“Even those in the evacuation centers are not spared of this possibility due to the not so ideal conditions existing there,” he said as he appealed to the victims to boil their water before drinking it.

The local chapters of the Philippine Medical Association have begun to mobilize their doctors as well to assist in the medical needs of the earthquake victims, he said.

The PMA is also sending augmentation teams to Bohol’s hardest hit areas of Loon, Maribojoc, Clarin, Tubigon, Calape, Sagbayan, Inabanga and Tagbilaran.

“We are also immediately sending medical specialists from Metro Manila to be deployed in various health establishments like hospitals and health centers that were hit by the earthquake,” Olarte said.
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