Tondo situation normalizing — DOH

The situation in gastroenteritis-stricken Foreshore area of Tondo, Manila is now slowly going back to normal, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said yesterday.

Dayrit noted that for the past days, the number of gastroenteritis cases from the Foreshore area has returned to the "baseline" level, indicating that the spread of the stomach and intestinal disorder has been minimized.

"It’s on a downtrend to the baseline level. There has been a significant drop in cases," he added.

Records of the Department of Health (DOH) showed that for the past three days, less than 10 gastroenteritis cases was surfacing from Foreshore daily. The baseline or normal occurrence of the disease is five to 10 cases a day.

Gastroenteritis broke out at the Foreshore last Oct. 23 due to water contaminated by human waste that seeped through leaking pipes and illegal connections. The disease has downed 853 residents, eight of whom died of severe dehydration.

After Maynilad Water Services Inc. increased the chlorination level and repaired leaks, the DOH expected a significant decrease in cases, but this did not immediately take place.

The DOH found out that many Foreshore residents were serving as carriers of gastroenteritis-causing organisms in their stools but were not manifesting symptoms.

This prompted the DOH to decide to distribute antibiotics among the family members and contacts of the patients to fight the gastroenteritis organisms.

Dayrit maintained that despite the decline in cases, the DOH would still be distributing the antibiotics to ensure control of the outbreak. – Sheila Crisostomo