Illness downs 20 in Toledo

CEBU, Philippines - Twenty residents of Sitio Bayabas, Barangay Subayon, Toledo City fell ill to a disease a doctor said is likely to be dengue.

Barangay Captain Florante Lariba said that his constituents brought up this problem just recently.

“Sakit daw ilang kuto-kuto. Daghang gihilantan,” Lariba said.

Lariba said eight patients approached him last week and were brought to the Lebumfacil Sta. Ana Medical Foundation where they availed of free medical check-up and treatment.

However, the same patients plus 12 others came to him again this week for the same problem.

It was then that Lebumfacil Sta. Ana Medical Foundation director, Dr. James Gaite, recommended to bring the patients to the Toledo City Hospital.

The 20 patients were brought to Toledo City Hospital yesterday afternoon using the multicab of the barangay. They were made to undergo complete blood count.

Lariba said one patient confirmed admitted at the Toledo City Hospital was Baby Boy “Amay” Ebina, 22, who could no longer stand up on his own as a result of the fever.

MORE SICK?

Joel Cauyon, a resident of the area, said there more than 30 people was already affected by fever for almost two months.

“Dugay na nagmulo ang mga tawo. Naa’y uban dul-an duha ka buwan magbalik-balik ang hilanat. Kapoy ang lawas, magkurog, dili ganahan mokaon, sakit ang ulo, sakit ang tiyan, unya magkalibang og dugo,” he said.

Cauyon’s siblings and neighbors suffered from fever. He said that there was a family of 14 who lives near his house and nine of them got sick. He said that children, including a month-old baby, were also ill.

“Magsunod-sunod ang hilanat. Mawagtan unya mobalik na sad,” Cauyon said.

Lariba insists there are only 20 patients who have experiencing fever for a week already and not for two months. He also denied some of them were defecating blood.

Lariba also said those brought to the hospital include four to five children and adults 30 and above. He could not confirm if there was a one-month-old among the 20 patients but said he saw a baby using a nebulizer at the hospital. He also made clear that no one has died from the said illness.  Lariba said that Toledo City Hospital head Dr. Bonito Zanoria told him he suspected those sick could be suffering from dengue.

“Ang giiingon ni Dr. Zanoria basin dengue,” he said, as most of the patients were found to have low blood platelet count by CBC tests.

NOT JUST DENGUE?

Another cause for the disease is being eyed; waste products from poultry farms.

Some Bayabas residents said during mealtime, flies from the poultry farm would land on their food even if it is still hot. Lariba also said that they suspect sickness was caused by people drinking water from a well that could have been polluted by waste from farms. However, some residents who live near the poultry farms also claim they drink mineral water but still get sick.

Toledo City Health Office sanitary inspector Antonio Layan Jr. said they also suspect the residents of Sitio Bayabas are suffering from dengue based on their symptoms. But he added that they will sample water from the wells and inspect the poultry farms next week.

Cynthia Genosolango, the chief of the Provincial Health Office, said she has not received a report of the incident yet. But PESU nurse Cyril Pangatunan said the only report the PHO got was a dengue and two diarrhea cases in Toledo City. He also said they are waiting for the official report from the Toledo City Health Office.

A team from the local health office there will be fielded on Monday to Sitio Bayabas. — with Michael Vencynth H. Braga/BRP (FREEMAN)