347 diarrhea cases in Cebu City noted last month

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Health Department recorded 347 cases of diarrhea in January wherein 13 victims have landed in the hospitals.

The number however was lower compared to the 452 cases in the same period last year. Cebu City Health officer Stella Ygoña said diarrhea is usually caused by unsanitary food and drinks.

“Eighty per cent of the diarrhea cases that we have last month caused by unsanitary food while the remaining 20 per cent caused by unsafe drinks,” she told the reporters at the City Hall yesterday.

She discouraged the public, particularly the students, from buying food and drinks that are being sold at the sidewalk in the vicinity of public and private elementary schools because these does not have sanitary permits.

Ygoña could not assure that the food sold by sidewalk vendors are fit for human consumption because these are displayed openly in the baskets and are prone to dust or saliva of persons.

Ygoña said some person also touch them directly with their bare hands.

Relative diarrhea is having more bowel movements than usual. Thus, if an individual has two or more bowel movements in a day diarrhea is present.

The FREEMAN verified from food vendors operating along the Cebu City Central School, including the so-called “pungko-pungko” or ambulant food vendors along D. Jakosalem street and found out that they do not have sanitary permits.

Food vendor Efren Sacristan is worried because of Ygoña’s pronouncement that their food is unsafe for human consumption because he believes that some persons may no longer patronize their products.

“Bisan og wala mi’y sanitary permit pero giayo man usab namo pagluto ang among baligya ug dili usab namo kini ipahikap-hikap sa mga customers,” he told The FREEMAN.

Because most of the sidewalk food vendors do not have spoons for their customers, they just provide them with plastic cellophane.

“Daghan man usab ang mamalit sa among pagkaon kay gawas nga barato wala man usab sila’y reklamo sa among pagkaluto,” another “pungko-pungko” vendor said.

Meanwhile, Ygoña has described the dengue cases in Cebu City for the month of January as “alarming” even if they have only recorded 126 cases, which is relatively lower compared to the 196 in the same period last year.

There were also two reported dengue-related deaths in January last year while only one death recorded so far this year.

The city health officials yesterday distributed net curtains laced with chemicals that can kill mosquitoes in Talamban and Mabolo Elementary Schools as part of their campaign against the dreaded disease. — (FREEMAN)