DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 February) – At least three people have died due to the diarrhea outbreak in Toril District here, the City Health Office (CHO) confirmed Friday.
CHO head Dr. Ashley Lopez said in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) that a 32-year-old male teacher died of “acute renal failure” caused by diarrhea at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) on Thursday.
The patient was first admitted at the Saint Felix Hospital in Talomo District on July 16 due to acute gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration and was transferred to SPMC on July 20 after his condition worsened.
“He eventually suffered severe dehydration with metabolic disorders that’s why he was transferred to SPMC,” Lopez said.
The patient, a resident of Lingig town in Surigao del Sur, worked as a teacher in the city and stayed in Barangay Lubogan Toril, he added.
Like the other cases, Lopez said it was reported that the latest fatality had eaten “isaw” or grilled chicken entrail and tapioca drink sold at the night market in Rasay Street, Toril on July 15 and manifested symptoms of diarrhea hours later.
A 10-year-old boy and a 67-year-old female died on Tuesday from diarrhea complications, the CHO reported.
Lopez said there are still two severe patients at the intensive care unit of SPMC.
As of Thursday, the CHO reported 218 cases of diarrhea, 19 of them fully recovered while 196 are still recovering.
The patients came from 18 barangays in Toril District and three in Talomo District.
These are Alambre, Bangkas Heights, Baracatan, Bato, Binugao, Camansi, Catigan, Crossing Bayabas, Daliao, Daliaon Plantation, Eden, Lizada, Lubogan, Marapangi, Mulig, Sirawan, Toril Proper and Tungkalan in Toril and Bago Aplaya, Baliok and Dumoy in Talomo .
The youngest case is six months old and the oldest is 71.
The CHO confirmed the diarrhea outbreak on Sunday after more patients were admitted to different hospitals in Toril due to loose bowel movement (LBM).
Lopez said the city government has yet to determine the cause of the outbreak, pending results of the water analysis, food sampling and rectal swabbing.
But he added that “there is strong indication that the street food at the night market could have caused it.”
“The source is very common among them – presumably the street food – because right after the intake of food from that area, they manifested LBM, vomiting and other symptoms related to diarrhea,” he said.
He said a four-man team from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) came to Davao from Manila to do an independent investigation of the outbreak.
He said that the team took water samples from the affected villages, which would be taken to RITM for analysis.
Lopez said the city government has ordered the temporary suspension of the operation of the night market in Toril.
On Thursday, some 400 vendors affected by the temporary suspension were trained in proper food handling.
Lopez said the City Social Welfare and Development Office is providing assistance to the affected vendors for their basic needs until the night market resumes operations.
He said the local government cannot allow the street food vendors to resume operation while the outbreak has not been contained. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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