Typhoid kills 1, downs 16 in Pasay

One woman died while 16 people were hospitalized for typhoid, which was blamed on the dirty water supply in two Pasay City barangays, local health officials said yesterday.

They refused to reveal the identity of the victim, who died last week due to the disease. Five of the woman’s relatives from Barangay 123 in Zone 12 were immediately isolated at a hospital after they had shown symptoms.

City sanitary inspection officer Neil Sabino said yesterday the relatives have recovered and were sent home after receiving necessary treatment.

However, typhoid cases were not confined to just one family in the barangay. As of yesterday, there has been 10 typhoid patients at various hospitals in the city.

The disease also reached neighboring Barangay 125, where six cases have been confirmed by local officials.

The cases were recorded from L. Medina and Alfonso Isidro streets, where water has been found contaminated with the organism that causes the disease.

A study conducted by the local health department also revealed that the supply of water in most houses in the area do not contain chlorine, which prevents microbacteria from growing in the water.

Typhoid is a highly communicable disease. Its symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea.

In an interview with The STAR, officials in both barangays blamed the spread of the disease to the poor maintenance of water pipes in the area.

Malen Seblando, of Barangay 125, said two cases of typhoid were reported late last year, but the water pipes and distribution lines were replaced just last Wednesday.

City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad himself has affirmed the late response of the water company to the threatening problem in the city. He said he had sent notification last August regarding the dirty water supply in his own residence on Park Avenue.

However, the mayor noted that there is no reason for residents to be alarmed because the spread of the disease has been properly controlled.

Trinidad said there is no reason to declare an outbreak since affected families have been properly isolated.

"We were able to prevent an epidemic. With the replacement of the pipe lines that were poorly maintained, we expect that the disease to now be controlled," stressed Trinidad.

Still, the mayor said the city government will continue with its curative and preventive measures "because we don’t know if there are affected residents who are not cooperative with our health representatives."

Sabino added that they started conducting dialogues with officials not only from the affected barangays, but also from those in neighboring areas. "Actually, surveillance of water samples is being conducted every week. We get 33 samples from selected areas for assessment," he added.

As works on the pipes continue, tankers have been provided to supply the water needs of residents.