‘Cholera outbreak’ downs 31 people in South Cotabato

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato —At least 31 people were rushed a hospital in South Cotabato on Wednesday after falling ill due to a suspected cholera outbreak in remote New Iloilo village in Tantangan town, a municipal health official said.
 
Tantangan Municipal Health officer Dr. Renato Ureta said 21 of the supposed cholera victims are still being treated at the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital for symptoms of cholera, including diarrhea and body weakness.
 
^{Victims of a suspected cholera outbreak are being treated at the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital. --Williamor Magbanua}

Ureta suspected contaminated water from the community's water system may have caused the illness.
 
However, Ureta did not discount the possibility that the patients may have been victims of food poisoning because, he said, they got sick after attending a neighbor's birthday party.

“They needed to be admitted in the hospital for fast recovery. Some of them are already weak and might be dehydrated if not given immediate medical attention,” Ureta told reporters.
 
Laboratory samples were already sent to the provincial hospital for examination to pinpoint the cause of the illness that struck the victims, he added.
 
The Municipal Health Office has already sent a team to New Iloilo to conduct health information drive, advising residents to boil their drinking water, he said, adding that health personnel also distributed oral rehydration solution (Oresol) to the villagers to prevent the spread of the disease. —Williamor A. Magbanua/LBG, GMA News