Dirty water sends 72 to hospital

KIDAPAWAN CITY—At least 72 people landed in the hospital in Aleosan town, North Cotabato province, over the weekend, grimacing from stomach pain, vomiting and loose bowel movement.

“We learned the patients’ source of drinking water came from a communal and open water well,” said Dr. Miguelita Patinio of Aleosan District Hospital.

The patients, all residents of Sitio Bliss in the village of Pagangan, were suffering from amoebiasis, Patinio said. They started experiencing abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fatigue on Friday.

Amoebiasis is an infection of the intestines caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica.

Mayor Vicente Sorupia has ordered the chlorination process of the village’s water source. The residents were also told to boil drinking water while the local government is looking for other water sources.

In May, at least eight people were killed and about 700 others were hospitalized in a cholera outbreak in remote villages of Alamada town, also in North Cotabato. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao