25 hospitalized due to diarrhea in Cotabato; contaminated water seen as possible reason

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Cotabato - Contaminated water from the source could be the possible reason for the diarrhea experienced by at least 25 people in a remote village in the town of Midsayap, Cotabato, a sanitation official said.

Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office Environmental and Sanitation Division chief Engineer Ronilo Marba said the residents of Barangay Nalin were hospitalized after having diarrhea.

“Most of the victims are our brother Muslims,” Marba said in a phone interview.

The sanitation chief said that water taken from the deep well source and the pump could have been contaminated with parasites following the floods that occurred in the past few days.

The affected residents were confined at the Ramon Pisante Hospital and Pader Hospital in the nearby town of Libungan, according to Midsayap town sanitary inspector Charles Abulencia.

Abulencia said some of the victims were already discharged while those still in the hospitals are in stable condition.

“Actually, the findings of the doctors who examined them was amoebiasis,” he said in a phone interview.

Abulencia suspected that the parasites from a nearby irrigation canal and a community cemetery could be the possible reason for the illness of the victims.

He said that based on their investigation, some residents used the irrigation canal when they had to relieve themselves.

The residents' area was also at least 20 meters away from the cemetery.

“Perhaps during the floods, it contaminated their water sources which caused their ailment,” Abulencia said.

The sanitary inspector advised residents to boil their water before drinking it to avoid a similar incident from happening. —KG, GMA News