Two dead, 28 hospitalized in suspected cholera outbreak in Maguindanao

A suspected cholera outbreak has killed two people and infected at least 28 others, mostly children, in Bongo Island in Maguindanao province, according to a GMA News TV report. In a report aired on GMA News TV's Kape at Balita on Thursday, Mariz Umali said the affected residents were rushed to the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) due to diarrhea and vomiting. "Pwede siyang cholera, kasi nakaka-10 episodes na watery talaga pero kailangan pa natin ng mga laboratory tests, stool exam, stool culture," Dr. Shariff Amilwari Manibpel, an attending doctor at CRMC, said in the report. The residents suspect that their water well was contaminated. "As claimed by the patients, isang [source] lang ang pinagmumulan ng tubig nila, ng water supply nila," Manibpel added. Manibpel said while they are waiting for the results of the tests, he recommends that the patients stay in the hospital for now. - Amanda Fernandez, VVP, GMA News