ILOILO CITY—An outbreak of food and waterborne diseases acute gastroenteritis and cholera has been declared in Iloilo City on Tuesday, August 30.
This was after the Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO) recorded a combined 90 cases and four deaths of acute gastroenteritis and cholera as of August 28.
Based on the data of the ICHO-CESU, only three of the 90 confirmed were cholera cases while the rest are acute gastroenteritis cases.
Dr. Annabelle Tang, acting ICHO chief, said that this is the first time in five years that cholera cases were recorded in the city.
As for acute gastroenteritis, there are currently 18 patients admitted in the hospital. They have experienced symptoms such as watery diarrhea; nausea, vomiting or both; stomach cramps and pain; occasional muscle aches or headache; and low-grade fever.
The ICHO-CESU also found that clustering of cases were in barangays (villages) located in City Proper district. For instance, the Tanza District Health Center had 35 acute gastroenteritis cases.
With this development, Tang is urging for boiling of drinking water for two minutes to kill pathogenic organisms.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas is requesting the Iloilo City Council to hold a special session on September 1 to approve declaration of state of calamity so that the city government can utilize calamity funds to curb the cases.