LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – Three persons have died in a diarrhea outbreak in Barangays Manila and Gaba in Batan Island, Rapu-Rapu town, Albay province.
Forty-eight residents were infected with the water-borne disease, Albay Provincial Health Office (APHO) sanitary officer William Sabater said.
Sabater said that 33 cases were reported in Barangay Manila and 15 in Barangay Gaba.
Two died in Barangay Manila and one in Barangay Gaba.
Sabater said that the first casualty was a 33-year-old female, the second was a 67-year-old male, both from Barangay Manila, and the latest was a four-year-old girl from Barangay Gaba.
He said that the four-year-old victim was unable to reach the hospital because of inclement weather.
The two others, he said, died because they failed to seek prompt medical attention.
Sabater said they conducted bacteriological analysis of the water sources of Barangays Manila and Gaba which turned out to be unsafe for drinking due to the presence of fecal coliform.