ILOILO – Deaths due to acute gastroenteritis (AGE) increased to six people in this province.
The six deaths are the following:
* 26-year-old male from Barotac Nuevo
* 82-year-old male from Barotac Nuevo
* 81-year-old female from San Joaquin
* 51-year-old male from Concepcion
* four-year-old female from Tigbauan
* eight-year-old female from Tigbauan
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said that case investigations of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) with concerned local government units (LGUs) through their municipal health offices (MHOs) are ongoing to determine how and where these people acquired AGE and the events leading to their death.
“Mamangkot anay kita sa IPHO what happened sa additional five nga aton casualties. Kon ano ang circumstances surrounding the casualties sa AGE naton,” stated the governor.
Last week, only one death — a four-year-old female from Tigbauan — was recorded.
Not only did the number of deaths due to AGE increase, but also the number of cases.
From January 1 to September 21, 2022, 65 cases of AGE were recorded in the province.
But after a span of one week (Sept. 22 to 28), the number increased to 82 total cases of AGE, or an increase of 17 cases.
Out of 82 cases, two are still active, 74 have recovered and six have died.
The 82 cases of AGE are from the following towns: Anilao (five), Balasan (one), Barotac Nuevo (12), Concepcion (seven), Dingle (one), Janiuay (one), Leganes (five), Miag-ao (five), New Lucena (one), Oton (nine), Pavia (four), Pototan (three), San Dionisio (one), San Joaquin (one), Santa Barbara (seven), Tigbauan (17), San Miguel (one), and Zarraga (one).
Because of this, Defensor continues to campaign for the residents to make sure that their water sources are safe and clean, especially for drinking and cooking.
Residents can also buy water from refilling stations that passed the inspection of the local health offices if they are unsure of the safety of water from deep wells.
Refilling stations are checked monthly by sanitary inspectors of the IPHO together with concerned MHOs.
The provincial government has also distributed water testing kits and chlorine to affected municipalities. In particular, the Chromogenic substrate (Colitag) for water testing and Troclosene sodium (Aquatabs) for disinfection of water sources.
Moreover, the IPHO continues to conduct advocacy campaigns and information dissemination on AGE prevention and control.
A few days ago, the province received 80 units of water filtration systems from the global humanitarian aid organization Waves for Water (W4W), together with Cebu Pacific Air, to help provide safe drinking water to residents in areas with recorded AGE or cholera cases.
Defensor thanked W4W Philippines and Cebu Pacific for the donation, “which is very much needed by our people.”
The water filtration systems will be deployed to 16 barangays at five each. The recipient barangays could establish community water depots that could serve larger communities in need.
The Waves for Water filtration system is effective in making rainwater and other cloudy liquids fit for human consumption.
At 0.1 micron absolute, the filters make it possible to drink from a water source without the risk of any life-threatening contaminants passing through — preventing the spread of waterborne diseases and severe dehydration./PN
