RESU provides medicine, checks typhoid-hit town

CEBU, Philippines - Regional health authorities yesterday returned to Pinamungajan town to distribute medicine and to check if their recommendations were followed to prevent further spread of typhoid fever.

“We went there to follow up if the improvised chlorinator has been in place. Part of our recommendation was for the local government unit to designate someone to secure and maintain the chlorinator,” Renna Cimafranca, chief epidemiologist of Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit of the Department of Health-7 told The FREEMAN.

Cimafranca said the barangay-run waterworks of Camugao has so far complied.

While the situation in Pinamungajan has been under control, an additional patient was yesterday consulted, pushing the total number of affected residents to 48, with seven laboratory confirmed typhoid fever patients.

Antibiotics and paracetamol were among the medicines distributed.

At least 150 jerry cans as water storage were likewise given to affected families.

A follow up testing of water sample from the treated water source was conducted and results will be known two days after.

Borbon Typhoid “Isolated”

The monitored typhoid cases in Barangay Cadaruhan, Borbon town is “contained” and “isolated” in one household.   This was according to Cimafranca and the municipal health officer of Borbon town Dr. Corazon Dotillos.

“Two patients were referred to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. They both belong to one household. We run a test on one of them because no other cases were noted in the neighborhood or the immediate community they were in,” said Dotillos.

The patient admitted to VSMMC tested positive for typhoid fever.

While water source has been ruled out as the cause of the illness, RESU still obtained water samples from the local water works and results will be known in two days.

“The most probable cause for this is food, not water. The food has not been determined as well. So just to be sure, we also tested their water source. This is confined in one household,” Cimafranca said.

“The patient was referred for admission at Sogod district hospital and was further referred to VSMMC. It was an isolated case only in Rusello family. Yesterday (Tuesday), I attended to one more case. Our midwife went to the area and found no other patients. But still, we are on close surveillance,” Dr. Dotillos said. — (FREEMAN)