Ona warns of diseases from heaps of garbage

MEMBERS of a team from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority walk near the corpses lined on the streets of Tacloban City amid debris. Health authorities warned of diseases from the heaps of garbage still uncollected in parts of the city. ROBERT IANNE GONZAGA/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON

TACLOBAN CITY—A top health official has warned of diseases arising from heaps of garbage that remain uncollected in some areas in the city, which suffered the brunt of Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” the world’s strongest storm in recorded history.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the still uncollected garbage in Yolanda-hit areas could bring diseases to residents in these areas.

Ona said there was a need to dispose of the heaps of garbage in the city and other areas, since these attract bacteria-carrying vermin that cause infections.

He said the heaps of garbage should be removed as quickly as possible to prevent the spread of diseases.

He said, however, that so far, no disease has spread in the area in an alarming rate.

Ona credited health workers for vaccinating people in areas hit by Yolanda.

“There are no cases of epidemic and I am so glad that these are not happening. I thank all our health workers for working so hard to avoid any of these happening,” he said.

The regional office of the Department of Health said it had conducted more than 29,000 measles vaccinations for storm victims, treated over 114,000 people due to various illnesses, which were mostly for open wounds and high blood pressure, and provided over 13,000 antitetanus shots.

Tecson John Lim, Tacloban City administrator, said authorities could not collect all the garbage due to the lack of dump trucks. The city government has less than 15 dump trucks.

Although all the major streets of Tacloban City have been cleared from the debris, many streets were still filled with debris, Lim said.

The heaps of garbage are being disposed of by the city government on an open dump in the Balyuan area along Magsaysay Boulevard and at the new bus terminal in Abucay district.

Private groups, like the Tzu Chi Foundation and the United Nations Development Program, as well as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, have initiated a cash-for-work program aimed at clearing Tacloban streets of debris brought by Yolanda.

Ona said he would ask the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to lend extra dump trucks to Tacloban City as they have done in the past.

The MMDA had sent personnel and provided several dump trucks to Tacloban City to help clear the city’s garbage shortly after Yolanda hit the city. The MMDA group, numbering close to 300 workers, left the city in the second week of December after almost three weeks of stay in Tacloban.