DAVAO CITY – Unhygienic street food caused the diarrhea outbreak in Toril here that affected 217 persons and killed six others from July 15 to 28, the Davao City Health Office (CHO) confirmed Friday, July 29.
CHO head Dr. Ashley Lopez said in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) Friday that the results of rectal swabs confirmed that the outbreak was caused by “food-borne microorganism with vibrio cholera as the pathogen of concern.”
“The most likely vehicle of transmission is not water but rather contaminated food,” he said.
He said that the sources of infection were tapioca drink and street food, particularly “isaw” (grilled chicken entrails), “kwek-kwek” (fried orange battered quail eggs), and juice, sold at the night market on Rasay St. and Toril Public Market.
He said the tapioca drink was the primary cause of infection and most of the critical cases drank it.
According to their investigation, Lopez said they found out that 41 percent of the affected cases ate at the night market, 21 percent at the public market, and 38 percent from multiple sources.
Lopez declared the diarrhea outbreak over after almost two weeks as 163 or 75 percent of the total cases had recovered.
He added that based on investigation, food might have been contaminated during preparation and handling by an unhygienic food handler.
Lopez said improper storage, delayed serving, and unsanitary environment might have contributed to the contamination of food.
“Home cooked food and handwashing are still the best way to prevent food-borne illnesses and seek early medical care most especially if you have had your third episode of acute watery diarrhea, and this is the best way to prevent severe complications and death,” he said.
Lopez added that health authorities have ruled out water-borne bacteria as the cause of the outbreak since the result of an examination conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City showed samples taken from distribution pipes of Davao City Water District (DCWD) tested negative for bacterial contamination.
He said water supplied by DCWD is “clean and safe.”
Lopez cautioned households against drinking from open wells and springs and encouraged them to sterilize the water for 10 minutes.
He said suspension of the operations of street food vendors has been lifted but added that the city government is considering imposing stricter regulations to prevent recurrence of this outbreak in the future.
Lopez said the latest casualty was a 27-year-old man who died last July 24 of “cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to severe dehydration.”
The patient bought and consumed isaw, tapioca drink, and corned dog at the night market last July 15 and experienced diarrhea, dizziness, and body malaise the following day.
He said the patient tried to self-medicate.