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Imburnal testing?: DOH ilalarga COVID-19 'waste water' tests vs pandemya

James Relativo - Philstar.com
Imburnal testing?: DOH ilalarga COVID-19 'waste water' tests vs pandemya
A clean-up volunteer scoops plastic waste at an open sewer in Manila on May 4, 2015. Non-governmental environmental groups are calling for national legislation to prevent plastic waste that clog waterways.
AFP/Jay Directo, File

MANILA, Philippines — Kung karaniwang pagtusok sa ilong at lalamunan ng pasyente ang ginagawa para ma-detect ang COVID-19, may bagong pakulo ang Department of Health (DOH) laban sa pandemya — testing ng maruruming tubig.

Ayon kay DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, Martes, malaki raw ang maitutulong nito lalo na't na-detect ang polio virus noon sa ilang imburnal sa Maynila at waterways sa Davao nang nagkaroon ng outbreak nito sa Pilipinas taong 2019.

"For COVID-19, nag-uumpisa na po tayong mag-set up with [Research Institute for Tropical Medicine] of course. How important is this? Malaking tulong ba ito? Yes, it is very important," ani Vergeire sa isang media briefing kanina.

"If you remember during the time that we were having our polio outbreak, we were able to detect cases because of this waste water testing."

"Nakita natin kung saan ang sources of infection natin, we were able to immediately determine kung anong areas 'yung high risk sa atin because of testing of this waste water."

Marso 2022 lang nang sabihin ng Manila Water na plano nilang magtayo ng laboratoryo para sa COVID-19 waste water surveillance.

Huwebes lang nang maiulat ang 4,439 karagdagang COVID-19 cases sa Pilipinas, ang pinakamataas sa iisang araw lang sa mahigit anim na buwan.

"So ganoon din po sa COVID-19. It's going to be part of our regular surveillance kung saan we will be testing waste water so that we can identify areas who are really at risk of having this cluster of infections of COVID-19," dagdag pa ni Vergeire.

Sa kabila nito, wala pa naman daw inisyatiba ang kahgawan para sa waste water testing ng kinatatakutang monkeypox, na nakapasok na ng Pilipinas kamakailan.

Banggit pa ng DOH official, marami pang kailangang paghandaan para roon.

Sa huling taya ng DOH nitong Linggo, aabot na sa 3.8 milyon ang nahahawaan ng COVID-19 sa Pilipinas. Sa bilang na 'yan, patay na ang 60,837 katao.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS

POLIO

SEWAGE

WATER

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