BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Talisay City recorded the highest number of cholera cases in Negros Occidental, according to the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
Cholera cases in the province have now risen to 63 – 22 from Talisay City and 21 from Silay City, latest PHO records showed.
Yesterday morning, additional cases were confirmed in E.B. Magalona town with 13 cases already, followed by Victorias City and Cadiz City with three cases each, and Manapla town with two cases.
Deaths due to cholera remained at two.
Meanwhile, the results of the water samples taken from Talisay City tested negative for cholera-causing bacteria, based on a report submitted by the City Health Office (CHO) earlier this week.
Talisay CHO head, Dr. Joy Guanzon, said the water samples were submitted to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) after the city logged the highest number of cholera cases.
Water refilling stations in the city were also checked, and all of them had water safe for drinking.
Guanzon said that with the samples testing negative for the cholera-causing bacteria, Vibrio cholerae, they now believe that water was not the source of the city’s cholera problem.
She now suspects that the cholera cases may have been due to unsanitary food preparation.
Based on records from the Talisay CHO, the areas with reported cholera cases included barangays Zone 3, 10, Dos Hermanas, and Matab-ang.
The villages were also noted to be using deep wells as their water sources.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
Symptoms include watery diarrhea, vomiting, thirst, leg cramps, and restlessness or irritability./PN
