ILOILO City – Cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in this southern city reached 508 with four deaths as of Sept. 10, data from the City Health Office (CHO) showed.
Acute gastroenteritis is a disease that occurs when food or water that is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms (such as E. coli, among others) or their toxins is consumed. Some of its symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, occasional muscle aches or headache, and low-grade fever.
The latest 112 cumulative cases were recorded from Aug. 22 to Sept. 6 at the Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital. The CHO found out that majority of the cases had bought and consumed food from ambulant vendors outside the school campus.
Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, CHO Medical Officer IV, yesterday said of the 112 cases at the hospital, 52 were students of Iloilo Doctors’ College’s College of Medicine, two resident physicians admitted at the hospital, and the rest were students from the school’s different departments.
Actions taken
On Sept. 8, Fortuna said all ambulant vendors and food establishments and kiosks outside Iloilo Doctors’ College, particularly on Infante, Delgado and Timawa streets, were inspected.
The joint inspection was carried out by the CHO personnel, sanitary inspectors, Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, Compliance Officer Fernando Jose “Boyet” Rico, and Task Force on Moral and Values Formation led by Nestor Canong.
“May mga nakit-an kami nga vendors and eateries wherein ang health card were expired or iban wala pa gid kakuha sang health card. May eatery nga nakit-an man nga waay pa business permit and may isa pa gid ka shop nga ang ginagamit ingredient waay sang BFAD certification and product registration, and waay nakabutang ang production date, nakabutang sa pet bottle. So gin-question naton,” said Fortuna.
Food establishments and kiosks that had violations were issued citation tickets and told to secure health cards.
Those that have no business permits were temporarily closed until they could get a business permit from the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).
Fortuna said the city government is strictly monitoring and inspecting all ambulant vendors and food establishments and kiosks not only in the aforementioned areas but also around the city if they have health cards and business permits.
“Sige-sigehon ni namon ang pag-strikto sang tanan nga food establishments especially sa ambulant vendors. So, kita namon sa City Proper pa lang damo na kita sang ambulant vendors. Ginalikawan naton nga magdamo pa ang AGE cases,” said Fortuna.
He added that the inspection team would be going around the city every after office hours since ambulant vendors’ operations are mostly in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, here is the breakdown of the four AGE deaths:
* three-month-old girl from Quintin Salas, Jaro district
* four-month-old boy from Calaparan, Arevalo district
* 10-month-old boy from Tanza Baybay, City Proper district
* one-year-old boy from Don Esteban, Lapuz district
Dr. Jan Reygine G. Ansino, medical officer of CHO’s Iloilo City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit, said of the 508 AGE cases, 21 were rotavirus cases.
According to Mayo Clinic, rotavirus is a very contagious virus that causes diarrhea. Before the development of a vaccine, most children had been infected with the virus at least once by age five.
Although rotavirus infections are unpleasant, you can usually treat this infection at home with extra fluids to prevent dehydration. Occasionally, severe dehydration requires receiving fluids through a vein (intravenously) in the hospital.
Good hygiene, such as washing your hands regularly is important. But vaccination is the best way to prevent rotavirus infection.
“We have a total of 21 rotavirus in Iloilo City… but all of them have recovered,” Ansino said.
How to prevent AGE
Amid the rising AGE cases, Fortuna advised the public to make sure that the food and water they consumed are safe.
When buying water at the refilling stations, he said always check if they have complete documentary requirements such as the business permit and water analysis result.
“Kon ang source of water questionable, puede naton mapabukalan ang tubig para at least safe kita sa gina-inom naton,” Fortuna said.
The CHO Medical Officer also asked for everyone’s cooperation against AGE.
“Indi kami gusto matabu liwat nga mag-gulpi magdamo ang cases kapin pa subong nga may klase na bala. So tutokan ta ini,” he added.
On Sept. 2, 2022, Iloilo City was placed under a state of calamity due to AGE and cholera outbreak.
Almost 50 percent or 77 of the 180 barangays in the city were affected and have cases of AGE./PN
