DAVAO CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) confirmed an outbreak of diarrhea after 43 cases have been reported in some barangays in Toril District, this city, as of 10:00 p.m. on Sunday.

CHO head Dr. Ashley Lopez said during an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Monday that health authorities have yet to rule out the cause of the outbreak.

He said CHO suspected it was caused either by water contamination or food poisoning.

The diarrhea-stricken barangays include Bato, Toril Proper, Crossing Bayabas, Lubogan, Mulig, Daliaon Plantation, Tungkalan, Daliao South, Daliao North, Lizada Fish Port, and Barangay Binugao.

He said the outbreak in these barangays has been put under control.

In an advisory, the City Government of Davao told residents within Toril to avoid drinking or using tap water for food preparation without boiling it up to 100 degrees for 10 minutes; use purified or bottled water for consumption, if possible; and frequently wash hands thoroughly with soap.

He said that it was likely that the recent flooding might have contaminated the water system, although some patients also claimed that symptoms of diarrhea started manifesting after eating street food and tapioca dessert peddled by vendors.

“The primary consideration right now is water because of the situation. Rains caused some flooding, and it could possibly contaminate our water system,” he said.

But Lopez added if it’s water contamination, the number of cases would have been higher since there is only one water source among households in Toril district, which is supplied by the Davao City Water District (DCWD).

He said that rectal swabs of the patients have been taken to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) on Monday for laboratory examination to determine the cause of diarrhea.

Meanwhile, he said the city government is awaiting the result of the water analysis conducted by DCWD last Sunday but he encouraged the residents to sterilize the water if they are drinking from the faucet.

“Some experts say you have to extend the heating by at least one minute – the range is between 1 and 10 minutes – so that the bacteria causing the infection will eventually die due to the boiling,” he said.

He said the local government is expecting the result of the rectal swab on Tuesday but added that there is one confirmed case of amoebiasis among patients.

Out of the total cases, 24 are admitted at St. John of the Cross Hospital, eight at Davao Mediquest Hospital, two Ernesto Guadalupe Community Hospital, and nine are subject for verification.

The youngest case is a six-month-old patient, he said.

Lopez said the first case was reported at St. John of the Cross Hospital last July 15 but more admissions due to loose bowel movement (LBM) were noted in private hospitals of Toril on Sunday.

“For now, what we can confirm is that there is an outbreak but what we cannot confirm yet is if this was caused by bacteria, water contamination, or food poisoning,” he said.

He said that if analysis would point to food poisoning, the local government would take some measures, including dialogue and reorientation seminars for street food vendors on food handling.