ILOILO CITY – Almost half of the barangays here are affected by an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis.
Dr. Annabelle Tang, acting chief of the Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO), disclosed that 47 percent or 85 out of the 180 barangays in this city have recorded acute gastroenteritis cases.
There are now 354 acute gastroenteritis cases with nine deaths as of Sunday, Sept. 4.
A state of calamity was declared in this city late last week to curb the rising number of cases of the water and food-borne disease.
ICHO data showed that badly affected are coastal barangays in the City Proper and Molo Districts where residents are believed to be drinking contaminated tap water.
Inspections have found out that drinking water was positive for coliform and E. coli bacteria.
Tang said there are 20 barangays with clustering of cases. Barangay Rizal Estanzuela has the most cases with 21 while Barangay Molo Boulevard has 19.
Mayor Jerry Treñas here has expressed alarm over the rising number of cases and the latest fatality, a three-year-old boy who died on Friday, Sept. 2, pushed the number of fatalities to nine.
There are 93 patients admitted to hospitals and 61 at home. So far, 191 people have recovered.