Tacloban cholera outbreak: 426 cases, 5 deaths

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The cholera outbreak in Tacloban City has worsened, with 426 cases recorded as of Wednesday compared to 192 on Oct. 26.

Jelyn Lopez-Malibago, Department of Health (DOH) Eastern Visayas information officer, said 213 of the patients were hospitalized.

Five deaths, including a three-month-old and a 71-year-old man, were also recorded.

The DOH said there are now seven deaths due to cholera in the entire province of Leyte. The two other fatalities are in Abuyog and Tanauan towns.

Malibago said the fatalities manifested symptoms of cholera, such as watery stools, vomiting and dehydration.

“The DOH has detected more cases after conducting a cholera case assessment and evaluation with the city health office in affected areas,” she said.

The affected barangays are Sto. Nino, Abucay, Calvary Hill, Palanog, San Roque, Diit and New Kawayan; the downtown area, San Jose district, Utap and Calanipawan.

Malibago said the patients reportedly contracted the disease after drinking water or eating food contaminated with e-coli.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.

The DOH reported 32 deaths while 3,955 others were hospitalized due to suspected cholera in the past 10 months.

Thirty-four of 87 confirmed cases are from Tacloban City.