PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The City Health Office (CHO) has placed under control the diarrhea outbreak that had hit a Batak indigenous peoples (IP) remote village here in February.
City health officer Dr. Ricardo Panganiban said Monday the spate of diarrhea that affected some 150 Batak residents in Sitio Kalakwasan, Barangay Tanabag, Puerto Princesa has been dealt with successfully.
“No more diarrhea case has been detected in Tanabag, as well as barangays Concepcion and Manalo,” Panganiban said, following last week’s conduct of a validation activity of his office.
However, he warned residents of the barangays to be cautious about the cleanliness of the water they are drinking.
“Although we’ve not detected any serious case, residents should practice safety when drinking water. We still suggest they boil their water,” said Panganiban.
He added that diarrhea also tends to happen during the hot season, which provides the condition that microorganisms need to develop.
“Water bodies dry up during the summer. If people drink water from stagnated water sources, there is a high possibility that bacteria are present there since water is not flowing,” he added.
In February, the CHO disclosed that at least two Batak residents died, and more were affected by the diarrhea outbreak in Tanabag due to the contamination of a water project by the city government.
The CHO set out Immediately to visit the IP village to find where the coliform bacteria had formed to stop its spread and prevent more deaths. (PNA)
