Cholera and dengue fever cases rise in southern Philippine city
Philippines, Jul 30, 2010
Health officials in the Philippines told United Press International (UPI) that dengue fever has killed at least 23 people, mostly children, since the beginning of the year, and has already reached alert levels in other states in the country. In southern Zamboanga City, the mosquito-borne illness has afflicted at least 1,052 others, alarming health officials to strengthen efforts against the disease. The last outbreak Zamboanga City experienced occurred in 2007, when the case count grew over 3,000. Agbulos warned that if nothing is done to fight this year's outbreak, the situation could worsen to the level of the outbreak that occurred three years ago, Business Mirror reported. In response, the UPI reports that officials have commenced a cleanup drive because of the nearly 300 percent increases in dengue cases in some areas. So far, community groups and residents have worked together to eliminate and clean up any possible mosquito breeding sites, the Inquirer reported. A "very high alert level" has been placed on the situation, stressing that the number of registered cases has not reached outbreak level yet. Simultaneously, the City Health Office has declared an outbreak of cholera in one of the barangays. Xinhua news agency reported on July 19 that at least two children in the city had died, while 30 others were hospitalized after developing cholera symptoms. According to Business Mirror, the source of the infection was reported and confirmed to be contaminated water from a deep well. Residents in the affected area have been advised not to get their water from a local well, but residents say they will have problems looking for water because the well is their only source, Xinhua noted. The inability of local health workers to provide potable water and prevent residents from obtaining contaminated water from the well will only exacerbate the growing cholera outbreak. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. After exposure to the disease, an infected person will experience copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if not treated promptly.
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