BACOLOD City remains safe for its residents as well as tourists despite the recent declaration of food and waterborne diseases outbreak in one of its barangays, a city official said.
Councilor Em Ang, chairperson of City Council committee on health and sanitation, yesterday said the incident affecting more than 100 children in Barangay Handumanan has taught the public to be more cautious.
With more consciousness among the people now, the city is even a safer place to live and for tourists to stay in, she added.
“I can confidently say that the situation has been contained effectively, in fact the Department of Health (DOH) commended the swift action of the city government in responding to the incident that could have been worse if was not immediately controlled,” Ang said.
‘Cholera not the cause’
The DOH clarified that cholera was not the cause of the food and waterborne diseases outbreak at Barangay Handumanan.
Dr. Glen Alonsabe, chief of Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of DOH in Western Visayas, said the investigation is still ongoing, adding that they have yet to determine the cause of the outbreak.
Between Friday and Sunday last week, at least 145 pupils of Handumanan Elementary School-I were admitted to hospitals due to suspected food poisoning.
They suffered gastroenteritis after they ate fried chicken and halo-halo, and drank fruit juice, which they bought from ambulant and canteen vendors.
Some of the confined pupils were tested positive for cholera.
Alonsabe said that cholera cases are not related to the outbreak in Barangay Handumanan since it was an “incidental finding.”
“At this time, we are still waiting for the results of the stool culture of the cases. It’s too early to conclude whether its cholera, other bacteria or virus,” he added.
Alonsabe said it’s not unusual to have cholera cases in Bacolod because it’s endemic in Negros, adding that there is no cholera outbreak in the city.
A team of epidemiologists from DOH are still in Bacolod conducting investigation on the food and waterborne diseases outbreak.
The City Health Office and the Department of Education are set conduct a seminar on food safety and proper food handling to all canteen operators and vendors in all public schools.
Vendor regulation
Meanwhile, the City Council approved on Tuesday a resolution “urging all barangay captains to require all ambulant vendors operating outside the school premises within their jurisdiction to submit to stool examination and deworming at the City Health Office.”
The resolution stated that “if necessary, to waive the stool examination and health permit fee.”
Ang, who authored the resolution, said the city will activate the barangays to strictly monitor, keep all records of the ambulant vendors, and require them to have health cards.
As part of the policies and measures, the city government will also implement food handling classes among schools, which was not done during the opening in June.
Schools are to be grouped into seven districts, where food handling classes among canteen workers and ambulant vendors operating outside the school premises will be conducted.
“We have learned our lesson. Despite having the laws, ordinances and rules, we still have to revisit and strictly implement them,” Ang said. (With reports from MPE)