Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has urged the Department of Health to intensify its information drive regarding the outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in Baguio City.
Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said it is critical for the agency to identify the cause of the reported outbreak and ensure drinking water safety in the affected areas.
The DOH, he said, should intensify its information drive, especially in schools and communities, and to identify and address any suspected contamination in drinking water sources.
“Nananawagan po ako sa DOH to check kung ano pong cause nitong gastroenteritis na naging outbreak po sa Baguio. Anong cause kung bakit nagkaroon ng outbreak at safe ba ang iniinom nilang tubig (I urge the DOH to check what was the cause of this gastroenteritis outbreak in Baguio. What was the cause and why was there an outbreak; is their water safe to drink)?” said Go.
“To DOH, intensify the information drive especially in schools and communities. At kung mayroon silang ma-identify na suspected, mga contaminated na mga drinking water. Importante ang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino dahil katumbas nga po ito ng buhay ng bawat Pilipino. And if they can identify the suspected contaminated drinking water. The health of each Filipino is important),” he stressed.
Baguio’s City Health Services Office has already reported 2,199 cases last January 11. The majority of the cases emerged between January 2 and January 8, indicating a rapid rise in the number of affected persons.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, meanwhile, announced that the cases are on a significant downtrend. The number of cases peaked on January 8 with 430 cases but decreased to 244 on January 9, and further declined to 61 on January 10 and 43 on January 11.
Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag, on the other hand, revealed that one out of 12 water sources in Baguio City tested positive for contaminants.
Health officials have recommended boiling water for two minutes or using chlorine-based water disinfection solutions to prevent the spread of disease.