MANILA — The Department of Health-Ilocos Region on Sunday advised residents to boil their drinking water if there is no available supply of potable water to avoid getting diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.
Due to the very hot and humid weather, cases of diarrhea are on the rise which commonly affects children a DOH official said.
“Because of their playful trait, children need a lot of fluid to rehydrate after playing and they usually drink directly from tap water or from other sources such as juices being sold by ambulant vendors frequenting the streets,” DOH Ilocos Region Director Paula Luz Sydiongco said.
“We have to make sure that we have potable water at home and that the water we serve our children is safe and clean. Always use pure clean water for drinking, preparing beverages, cooking, brushing teeth, washing hands and face, and washing eating and cooking tools to avoid getting diarrhea,” Sydiongco stated.
“Kung hindi tayo sure sa iinuming tubig, pakuluan natin ito ng at least one minute to kill any harmful bacteria. But be sure na gagamit tayo ng stainless steel or clay pot sa pagpapakulo upang hindi mga leftovers gaya ng aluminum particles, corrosions, toxic metals, chemicals gaya ng lead, mercury at asbestos mula sa boiling process na galing sa boiling receptacle na ginamit,” she added.
Sydiongco also assured residents that diarrhea cases in the region are manageable and various medical commodities were already prepositioned to prevent an outbreak of diarrhea cases in the provinces.
Regional manager for the food and waterborne disease prevention and control program, Ms. Kaye T. Valdez said that the provincial health offices of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Pangasinan including the city health office of Dagupan City have already received their supply.
“We have given 140 jars of effervescent chlorine granules to be used for water disinfection, 1,200 boxes of ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic for adults to treat different types of bacterial infections, 2,016 bottles of zinc syrup for kids to strengthen their immune system and metabolism function, 35,120 sachets of oral rehydration solution to restore body fluid and prevent dehydration and 35 boxes of crystal VC RDT kits for the detection of cholera.”
According to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), there are a total of 4712 acute watery diarrhea cases reported by various disease reporting units (DRU) in Region 1 from January 1 to March 25, 2023, with 7 deaths recorded.
The figure is 104.2% higher than the number of cases same time last year with 2307 cases recorded.
(Amado Inigo/MTVN)
