Toril residents told to sterilize drinking water as CHO confirms diarrhea outbreak

Davao City Acting City Health Officer Dr. Ashley Lopez warned residents of Toril to use only boiled or sterilized water as a diarrhea outbreak hits the area.

In an interview with CIO on Monday, Lopez said that as of the afternoon of July 18, 2022, the total hospitalization for diarrhea already reached 45 cases. The average age range is as young as 6 months old to 44 years old. These number constitutes the admitted patients to St. John Hospital (24 patients), Davao Mediquest Hospital (8 patients), Ernesto Guadalupe General Hospital (two patients). Eleven cases are still under verification.

The cases from the Toril A area came from barangays Bato, Toril Proper, Crossing Bayabas, Lubogan, Mulig, Daliaon Plantation, Tungkalan; while those from Toril B came from Daliao North, Daliao South, Lizada Fish Port, Lizada Curbada, and Barangay Binugao.

Lopez said that the admission began on July 15 and spiked on July 16, prompting the Sanitary Inspectors and District Surveillance Officers (DSO) to conduct investigations in Toril areas.

The investigations pointed to two possible causes of the outbreak – flood waters seeping into the water system or food poisoning from tapioca and other street foods.

“Pwede sa tubig, contaminated water, which was brought about by the expected na tag-ulan. Naa ta’y cases from areas with continuous flooding…ug ang ikaduhang consideration, this was reported yesterday by one of our sanitary inspectors nga naa daw nagapamaligya og street food, tapioca gani, which could also be related to the use of water along the streets of Toril, which can also be a possible source of infection. (It can be from contaminated water which was brought about by the rains. We have cases from areas with continuous flooding… and our second consideration, this was reported yesterday by one of the sanitary inspectors that some are selling street food, tapioca, which could also be related to the use of water along the streets of Toril and can also be the possible source of infection),” he said.

Lopez said they were not able to confirm the suspicions because the laboratory at SPMC is closed on Sundays.

“We are already conducting rectal swab and water analysis including fecal analysis sa atong mga pasyente na-admit sa hospital. We will submit the specimen to the SPMC today. I am hoping that later this day or probably tomorrow we could have some, at least, initial results of the findings sa atong test nga gibuhat para atoang makompirma unsa ba’y hinungdan sa kalibanga nga nahitabo sa Toril. (We are already conducting rectal swab and water analysis including fecal analysis of our patients admitted to hospitals. We will submit the specimen to SPMC today. I am hoping that later today or probably tomorrow we would have the initial results of the findings on the tests that are done to confirm the cause of diarrhea in Toril),” he said.

Lopez said that the Davao City Water District has already done water sampling and is also waiting for the official result.

While waiting for the test results that will reveal if the diarrhea is caused by water contamination or food poisoning, Lopez urged residents to be cautious in using tap water for washing hands, washing fruits and vegetables, cooking and drinking.

“I just want to remind everybody to boil water kung mugamit mo og tap water sa inyong isig ka mga balay, households please boil your water.. gikan sa pagbukal padugayi pa sya gamay so that kadtong mga kagaw nga pwede maka-cause og infection will eventually die because of the temperature sa heating sa boiling” (I just want to remind everybody that if you will use tap water in your households please boil your water.. from the boiling point allow it to boil longer so that the bacteria which can cause infection will eventually die from the heating and boiling),” Lopez said.

The use of bottled water for consumption is also advised in the meantime.

Lopez said that for further inquiries, residents can go to incident command centers which are the District Health Centers of Toril A and Toril B. For Toril B the district health center is located in front of Magsaysay Elementary School, while for Toril A, the district health center is located at Toril Proper at the back of Chowking.

“The main health centers in Toril A and Toril B were now open as incident command centers headed by our district officer so kung naa mo’y pangutana, naa mo’y mga issues and concerns, kung naa mo’y symptoms na related sa kalibanga pwede mo muadto diretso sa atong pinakaduol nga district health center. (The main health centers in Toril A and Toril B are now open as incident command centers headed by our district officers. If you have questions, if you have issues and concerns and if you have symptoms related to diarrhea you can go to your nearest district health center),” Lopez said.

For concerns, the public may contact 09302702823.

Meanwhile, Lopez added that based on the instruction of Mayor Baste Duterte, they have coordinated with Lingap Para sa Mahirap for assistance in the hospitalization of indigent individuals.

“The City Government of Davao is ready and open for any assistance to citizens affected by the diarrhea outbreak,” Lopez said.

Lopez said that stalls for street vendors are temporarily closed until such time the CHO can make confirmation based on tests conducted. CIO