The Department of Health (DOH) has declared an outbreak of cholera in two areas in the Visayas – Sitio Badjao Bridge, Barangay Totolan in Dauis town, Bohol, and Carnaza Island in Daanbantayan town, Cebu.
According to a report by DOH, there were seventy-five (75) residents of the Sitio Badjao Bridge who were rushed to the hospital last week, but are now recovering.
Meanwhile, more than a hundred people on Carnaza Island were confirmed to be infected with cholera.
The DOH has sent new water containers and water-purification chemicals to the affected areas.
According to WHO, cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It emains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development, especially a good water source and adequate sanitation.
If left untreated, cholera can cause severe acute watery diarrhea which will eventually lead to severe dehydration and ultimately to death. It may affect both children and adults.
Prevention for cholera include good economic development and universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Adequate handwashing before and after food handling is key to prevention of the fecal-oral transmission of the disease.
