Typhoid fever downs 200 in Caraga Region

BAYUGAN, Agusan del Sur — More than 200 persons in Barangay Libertad, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur got ill after an outbreak of typhoid fever hit the mining village three days ago, prompting health officials to dispatch a team in the area yesterday.

Health officials headed by Bunawan Municipal Health Officer Dr. Ruth Emproso said that the source of drinking water in the village may be contamination due to poor sanitation.

Health authorities could, however, not give an exact number of people affected by the typhoid outbreak as sketchy reports from hinterland barangays said other areas may have been affected already.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Butuan through the Social Action Center also sent health volunteers and medicines to the area, Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos told The STAR.

Agusan del Sur provincial board member Edwin Elorde, brother of Bunawan, Agusan del Sur Mayor Ronald Elorde told The STAR in a phone interview that the provincial government have sent some patients to Davao City for treatment

"We are sending the more serious ones to Davao City for treatment since hospitals there have more facilities," Elorde said.

Others were confined at the Bunawan District Hospital while some were also sent to the D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital in Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur.

Elorde said some patients had severe diarrhea with fever while others only had fever and vomiting.

DOH Caraga Regional Office spokesperson Nurse Sunshine Alipayo, in a text message to The STAR confirmed the outbreak, saying the Center for Health Development Caraga Region has sent a team headed by Regional Epidemiologist and Surveillance Unit head Dr. Gerna Manatad to help contain the outbreak.

Typhoid fever is an infectious feverish disease with severe symptoms in the digestive system in the second phase of the illness.

Classic typhoid fever can be life-threatening, but antibiotics are an effective treatment. The disease lasts several weeks and convalescence takes some time.