Metro Manila, January 16 ------ The outbreak of gastroenteritis in Baguio City has been “contained” less than a week since the alarming spike of cases was first reported, the Department of Health said. Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag said the daily tally of gastroenteritis cases in Baguio has decreased to “less than 20” three days ago. “The gastroenteritis outbreak in Baguio has ended. But of course, the investigation of the Department of Health, together with the City Health Office of Baguio, is again not completed yet,” Tayag said. “We want to know if there have been any organisms that have been detected in the samples. Because this will provide us clues of what exactly happened. But now, we are concluding that the outbreak has been contained,” he added.
The Baguio City Health Services (CHSO) on Sunday said it has recorded 3,087 self-reported cases of acute gastroenteritis where 691 or some 22% sought hospital consultations. Tayag, however, said the number of cases was not expected to rise further since the tally of infections recorded was below 20. “The number of cases peaked and then, it suddenly almost disappeared. The cases that were being reported from Baguio City,” he added. “Well, when we say contained, we don’t expect the cases to go up again,” he explained.
Main source of contamination still unknown
In a local legislative session on Monday, CSHO head Celia Flor Brillantes said they are still investigating the primary source of water coliform contamination in the city, but she confirmed positive detection of E. coli (Escherichia coli) contamination in different “purifying water stations.”
On Jan. 12, local authorities reported finding contaminated samples from 18 water sources, including water delivery businesses and food establishments, amid the gastroenteritis outbreak in Baguio City. The establishments were issued a cease-and-desist order to start water quality testing and treatment, Brillantes added. “We are looking into the contamination of the pipes…The mayor also said to look into the septic tank and the sewers para makita po yung [to identify the] correlation… There is an ongoing investigation, we are doing our best to find the source of water that is contaminated,” Brillantes said. Meanwhile, authorities clarified that a “purifying water delivery service” also known as a water refilling station is different from a “raw water service.”
Negative coliform results from Baguio Water District supplies, SM tank
In a separate statement on Monday, the Baguio PIO released a test result showing negative water contamination from Baguio Water District (BWD) supplies and SM City Baguio’s cistern tank and water meter. “Results of the initial microbiological test on water samples collected from various water sources of the BWD showed ‘negative’ for Thermotolerant Coliform Organisms (commonly referred to as fecal coliforms) based on the summary of laboratory analyses conducted on 09 January 2024, following reported complaints of acute gastroenteritis,” it said.
The specific locations tested were Harrison Deepwell, Market Deepwell, Camp Allen Tank, City Hall Deepwell, SM New Parking (Water Meter), Malvar DW 2, SM Cistern, BWD Supply at SM Cistern. On other waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid fever, the DOH said no significant spike was monitored across the country. However, Tayag reiterated that waterborne diseases are seen to increase due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. “That’s why it’s very important that during the first three months of 2024, especially in areas in Luzon, the northern part, we have to monitor some indicator diseases that include dengue and diarrhea, of course,” Tayag concluded.
Source: cnnphilippines.com
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