Gastroenteritis cases rising

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Health authorities here have been alarmed by the increasing number of gastroenteritis in this city since January this year.

A top official of the City Hospital reported a total of 69 persons were admitted due to this water-borne disease, 44 of them in January alone and the rest just in the past 10 days of this month. The youngest of the patients was an infant while the oldest was an 80-year-old man.

The report also stated that most of those afflicted were children, and majority of the patients were from the villages of V & G Subdivision and Calanipawan in the city's suburbs. There were six who were inmates of the Tacloban City Jail.

City Health officer Jaime Opinion said health personnel are now looking into the possible contamination of drinking water as the probable reason of the rise in gastroenteritis. "It might be due to flooding that hit the city in January," he said. (FREEMAN)