DOH holds ‘sanitary survey’ in Calamba

With the number of typhoid fever cases in Calamba, Laguna continuously rising, the Department of Health (DOH) is now conducting a “sanitary survey” of the water distribution system there to determine where the water contamination originated.

Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the DOH’s National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said more people are still falling ill with typhoid fever so they are now checking “which portion of the distribution system is contaminated.”

Oliveros said the DOH has collected and tested water samples from several households and schools in Calamba and they tested positive for coliform and E-coli, the microorganisms that serve as indicators of the quality of food and water.

The presence of these microorganisms in the food and water indicates that they can easily be contaminated with bacteria like salmonella typhi, which causes typhoid fever.

The Local Water Utilities Administration earlier certified that the water being supplied by the Calamba Water District was adequately chlorinated and did not cause the typhoid fever outbreak.

Oliveros said these findings could indicate that the contamination took place along the distribution line from the main water source to the household level.

“If there is contamination, it may not necessarily (come) from the water source. There may be leakages in the distribution system. And maybe, it’s the way the residents are storing their water.  We want to know what happened so we are doing this survey,” she added.

Reports reaching the DOH showed that a total of 2,436 Calamba residents had contracted typhoid fever as of March 11.

Oliveros advised Calamba residents to strictly observe proper sanitation and personal hygiene because they might not be sick with typhoid fever but are carriers of the bacteria.

“They may not be manifesting the symptoms but they can be carriers and can spread the bacteria to others,” she said.