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Cholera, dengue outbreak reported in Zamboanga City
Regions
Written by Bong Garcia Jr. / Correspondent
Sunday, 18 July 2010 19:08
ZAMBOANGA CITY?The City Health Office here has declared an outbreak of cholera in one of the barangays, as well as a ?very high alert level? due to the soaring cases of dengue in the city.
Dr. Rodel Agbulos, city health officer, declared a cholera outbreak in barangay Vitali, 73 kilometers east of this city, citing the 30 cases reported as of Wednesday last week.
Agbulos said a total of 1,052 dengue cases have been recorded in this city from January to June this year, with nine fatalities, which already surpassed the total number of cases, and fatalities, registered in 2009. This compares with the 1,029 cases, with eight fatalities, for the entire 2009, he said.
Agbulos said 17 of the 30 confirmed cases of cholera in sitio Tindalo, barangay Vitali, remain at the Vitali Community Hospital. One fatality, a three-year-old child, was reported.
He said patients complained of severe stomach ache, vomiting and loose-bowel movement. The contaminated water from the deep well, which is the only source of water in the area, was confirmed as the root cause of the infection.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death, if treatment is not promptly given.
Agbulos said city health personnel were deployed to barangay Vitali as soon as the report reached his office to help alleviate the situation and to get specimen for the conduct of laboratory tests. He urged residents in the area to undertake measures to ensure that the water they use is potable and safe for drinking.
?For the first week of July alone, we have registered 71 cases and when we talk about deaths, a total of nine cases were fatal from January to the first week of this month,? Agbulos said of the dengue cases.
?We are declaring a very high alert level,? he added, stressing that the number of registered cases has not reached the outbreak level as of yet. He called on every resident of the city ?to do your share of helping prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.? He said cleanliness in the surroundings and sanitation are the most effective and no-cost prescriptions to dengue fever.
City Health Office records showed that there were 156 cases of dengue in January, 158 in February, 149 in March, 93 in April, 123 in May, 302 in June and 71 for the first week alone of July this year.
Agbulos said barangay Campo Islam, a slum village west of this city, registered the most number of dengue fever cases since the first month of this year.
Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands and rash. The presence (the ?dengue triad?) of fever, rash and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue.
Zamboanga City experienced an outbreak of dengue fever in 2007, when cases of dengue soared to more than 3,000 and Agbulos warned that if nothing will be done, the present situation might reach the same level as three years ago.
Regions
Written by Bong Garcia Jr. / Correspondent
Sunday, 18 July 2010 19:08
ZAMBOANGA CITY?The City Health Office here has declared an outbreak of cholera in one of the barangays, as well as a ?very high alert level? due to the soaring cases of dengue in the city.
Dr. Rodel Agbulos, city health officer, declared a cholera outbreak in barangay Vitali, 73 kilometers east of this city, citing the 30 cases reported as of Wednesday last week.
Agbulos said a total of 1,052 dengue cases have been recorded in this city from January to June this year, with nine fatalities, which already surpassed the total number of cases, and fatalities, registered in 2009. This compares with the 1,029 cases, with eight fatalities, for the entire 2009, he said.
Agbulos said 17 of the 30 confirmed cases of cholera in sitio Tindalo, barangay Vitali, remain at the Vitali Community Hospital. One fatality, a three-year-old child, was reported.
He said patients complained of severe stomach ache, vomiting and loose-bowel movement. The contaminated water from the deep well, which is the only source of water in the area, was confirmed as the root cause of the infection.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death, if treatment is not promptly given.
Agbulos said city health personnel were deployed to barangay Vitali as soon as the report reached his office to help alleviate the situation and to get specimen for the conduct of laboratory tests. He urged residents in the area to undertake measures to ensure that the water they use is potable and safe for drinking.
?For the first week of July alone, we have registered 71 cases and when we talk about deaths, a total of nine cases were fatal from January to the first week of this month,? Agbulos said of the dengue cases.
?We are declaring a very high alert level,? he added, stressing that the number of registered cases has not reached the outbreak level as of yet. He called on every resident of the city ?to do your share of helping prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.? He said cleanliness in the surroundings and sanitation are the most effective and no-cost prescriptions to dengue fever.
City Health Office records showed that there were 156 cases of dengue in January, 158 in February, 149 in March, 93 in April, 123 in May, 302 in June and 71 for the first week alone of July this year.
Agbulos said barangay Campo Islam, a slum village west of this city, registered the most number of dengue fever cases since the first month of this year.
Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows a benign course with headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint and muscle pain, swollen glands and rash. The presence (the ?dengue triad?) of fever, rash and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue.
Zamboanga City experienced an outbreak of dengue fever in 2007, when cases of dengue soared to more than 3,000 and Agbulos warned that if nothing will be done, the present situation might reach the same level as three years ago.
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