Disease outbreak feared in flood-hit areas

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) warned of a possible outbreak of leptospirosis and AH1N1 flu in flood-hit areas in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces.

The DOH also called for sanitation in the areas and provision of “garbage boats” that will collect wastes dumped in floodwaters.

“We are monitoring possible outbreak of leptospirosis in Bulacan and Pampanga because our experience after typhoon Ondoy showed high incidence of the diseases," said Eric Tayag, chief of the DOH Epidemiology Center.

He said that about 25 to 50 percent of recorded deaths after the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy in 2009 were due to leptospirosis infection.

Tayag advised residents in flood-hit areas to avoid walking on floodwater if they have an open wound.

With regards to other diseases, he said majority of cases they have treated were cough and flu. They are also closely monitoring acute water diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery and dengue.

In crowded evacuation centers, he said they are also monitoring the possible outbreak of AH1N1 flu.

Tayag also advised local officials to provide portable toilets to evacuation centers to ensure sanitation and hygiene.

With regards to the dangers of floating garbage, Tayag advised local government units to come up with garbage boats that will collect and deliver solid wastes to a staging area or a sanitary landfill.

The same was echoed by lawyer Teddy de Belen, head of the Bulacan Environment and Natural Resources Office (Benro), who said that in just a week, a town of 100,000 people can produce a total of 350,000 kilos of garbage.

He said the volume will increase with the distribution of hundreds of thousands of bottled mineral water to flood-hit towns of Hagonoy and Paombong.

“Those garbage will eventually end up in the coastal areas; we will conduct a coastal clean up but the question is where we will bring collected garbage,” De Belen said.