Thursday, April 03, 2008 1 dies of typhoid in Asturias
ONE person died while 15 others were hospitalized after falling ill to typhoid fever in Barangay Sta. Lucia in Asturias, Cebu.
The lone fatality was identified as Catalino Candidisimo, 50, a resident of the barangay.
Mayor Allan Adlawan told a press conference yesterday that a contaminated water system, the main source of the supply in the village, caused the typhoid fever cases in the village.
Adlawan said municipal health workers tested water from one faucet of Sta. Lucia Water Works System Association and found it positive of the typhoid-causing bacterium salmonella typhosa.
The first case of typhoid fever hit the village last March 24.
Positive
Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Chief Dr. Cristina Giango said they took rectal swabs from the patients and found these to be positive of salmonella organism.
Giango also said that the water system, after undergoing several tests, was found positive of salmonella.
She said they are encouraging the residents served by the water system to boil water for drinking and keep their environment clean. She said they are also encouraging chlorination of water.
The Cebu Provincial Health Office conducted a test on the water system last March 31 and found this positive of salmonella organism.
Yvonne Carinosa, provincial medical technologist II, immediately informed the municipal health office and the water system in the village of the test results.
Ignored
But Adlawan said that Fr. Prumencio Mahusay, the town’s parish priest and chairman of the board of the Sta. Lucia Water Works System, just ignored them.
Adlawan said the town council will be compelled to pass a resolution seeking to take over the water cooperative for its failure to address the problem.
The mayor said the town is prepared to supply water to the entire village if the water system needs to be temporarily closed.
Adlawan said he turned down the business permit application of the water cooperative, which has been operating for more than a decade, unless its officials will attend the town council emergency session scheduled today.
The mayor said the IPHO is still conducting tests on the reservoir of the water system to determine whether it needs to be temporarily closed.
He said that they could not yet declare the area under a state of calamity.
Giango, meanwhile, said her office is still verifying the typhoid history in the area before deciding whether to declare an outbreak of the disease there.
In October 2005, Borbon was placed under a state of calamity when more than 160 persons were suspected of having the disease.
A Department of Health advisory indicated that typhoid fever is spread through the ingestion of food and water contaminated with human waste.
The advisory listed the following as symptoms of the disease: sustained high fever, headache, weakness, loss of appetite, diarrhea or constipation and abdominal discomfort.
What to do
To prevent typhoid fever, DOH recommends:
- Boiling water for drinking. Upon reaching boiling point, extend boiling for two or more minutes or use chlorine.
- Cook food well and always use food covers to prevent flies and other insects from contaminating them.
- Wash thoroughly all vegetables and fruits especially those that are eaten raw.
- Avoid eating street vended food.
- Wash hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before eating.
- Keep surroundings clean to prevent breeding of flies. (GMD)
