Cholera-infected villages got water from unsafe sources

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—Another resident of Alamada town, North Cotabato province, succumbed to dehydration and died on Saturday, raising the death toll due to cholera outbreak to nine.

Experts from the Department of Health (DOH) in Manila and local sanitary inspectors visited over the weekend the source of drinking water in Barangay (village) Upper Dado and found that the plastic pipes emanating from the water reservoir were not properly repaired and safety was not a priority among the local folk.

A leaking plastic pipe was repaired with the use of plastic as a cover and then sealed, making it vulnerable to bacteria entering the water tubes and into the drinking water.

They also noted that carabao and cows were tied near the water sources.

Alamada municipal health chief Dr. Rosario Bandala said vibrio cholerae, a bacteria that causes cholera, thrives in water that is contaminated with human and animal discharge.

If the discharge reaches the water sources, an outbreak is expected to occur. Bandala said the latest fatality was a 50-year-old woman from a remote village in Upper Dado. All five adults and four minors, aged 4  to 8, died in their homes and did not make it to the hospital.

Bandala said the health advisory for villagers to refrain from drinking water from their traditional source remained in effect.

North Cotabato health chief Dr. Eva Rabaya said health workers, including doctors, nurses and midwives, were now busy educating the locals about cholera and how it is acquired, treated and prevented. The DOH’s hand-washing techniques were also taught to the locals, especially to the parents.

Health officials are rationing water in far-flung communities to prevent the disease. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao