NO MORE DIARRHEA OUTBREAK: In this file photo taken in February this year, diarrhea patients are seen being treated at the Rural Health Center of Balabac town in southern Palawan. (Photo courtesy of Marine Battalion Landing Team-4 )
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- A Palawan health official here said the diarrhea outbreak that downed 10 residents of the island municipality of Balabac in February this year had already been controlled.
Dr. Mary Ann Navarro, chief of the Provincial Health Office (PHO), said in an interview on Monday with the Philippine News Agency (PNA), that as of June, no other death has been recorded in Balabac, southern Palawan.
“It’s been controlled. We have not recorded any other death and we hope that continues. All the sources of water in the area were treated and each family in the gravely affected barangays was given jerry cans and Aquatabs to purify water, and a community-led total sanitation is continuously being done now,” she said.
Jerry cans are liquid containers where treated water is stored and protected from re-contamination.
Dr. Navarro said the residents are now following their safety awareness tips on boiling water supply before consumption and on ensuring that water sources are free from contaminants.
“Now, they are aware that they should not wash items or other materials that can contaminate their water sources. They also do not allow domestic animals anymore to go near where they get their water – there is a certain distance that they have to be away,” she added.
Anti-diarrheal medicine and water purifier tablets had already been deposited in the rural health center (RHU) in Balabac main to ensure that it can respond to any case that might erupt anytime, she said.
She added that the most important thing is for the residents themselves to practice sanitation and make it a way of life.
“Now that it’s rainy season, the risk is high, so people have to take care of themselves against gastroenteritis. They have to make cleanliness and sanitation a way of life,” Dr. Navarro said.
In February, health authorities confirmed reports that 10 persons died due to a diarrhea outbreak in Balabac due to contaminated water sources. The last recorded deaths were on February 2 and February 8.
The gravely affected barangays were Salang, Melville, Ramos Island and Agutayan. (PNA)
