Two die of diarrhea, over 100 hospitalized in San Francisco

CEBU - Two people including a four-year-old girl died because of water contamination in at least 16 barangays in the town of San Francisco in Camotes Island while more than a hundred, mostly children, have been hospitalized since late last month.

San Francisco Mayor Alfredo Arquillano said more than 70 people from the five coastal barangays of Sta. Cruz, Consuelo, Santiago, Unidos and Montealegre were hospitalized a week ago because of gastroenteritis.

But, Integrated Provincial Health Office chief Cristina Giango said there were a total of 120 cases reported, 111 of which were admitted to the hospital.

Giango identified the fatalities as Maria Daphne Torrejos, 4 years old from barangay Consuelo, and Aileen Otida, 17, from barangay Sta. Cruz.

Torrejos died last December 2 in the hospital, because of severe dehydration while Otida died because she refused to be admitted in the hospital.

Otida allegedly belonged to a religious sect, whose belief is against hospital treatment. 

Giango however refused to call it an outbreak because the 120 cases recorded came from at least 16 barangays.

“Gagmay ra man ang kaso matag barangay,” Giango said.

The affected barangays were identified by Giango as Esperanza, Cambat-an, North Poblacion, Union, Consuelo, Mangga, Sta. Cruz, Talisay, Sonog, Campo, Himinsulan, Montealegre, Bukok, Matnog, Cabungaan and San Isidro.

Maribeth Avila, a nurse at the San Francisco District Hospital, yesterday told radio station dyLA that they were alarmed when the admissions started to soar in the first week of December.

Avila said there was an incident that the admission reached to 19 in one day. She however said that the number of admissions has already declined.

As of yesterday there were only eight patients left in the hospital, two of whom were admitted yesterday morning.

Councilor Hector Otoy, chairman of the committee on health in San Francisco, said they ignored the cases at first because there were only one or two.

However, they were alarmed when the admissions suddenly soared in the first week of December.

Otoy said they immediately took the necessary measures, which included an information drive to the people.

According to Otoy, they advised the people to boil their drinking water.

Arquillano said the problem has already been contained by the health officials.

Giango said the laboratory examination of the water sample showed the presence of e-coli contamination. — Fred P. Languido/NLQ   (THE FREEMAN)