‘BAGUIO’S DIARRHEA OUTBREAK OVER’

January 19, 2024 Headlines

BAGUIO CITY

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong has declared the diarrhea outbreak that plagued Baguio since the last week of December is finally over. Magalong Thursday afternoon said the end of the
acute gastroenteritis illness that reached over 3000 cases since the last week of December was
prompted by the results culled from the epidemiologic investigations conducted on water sources in the city including massive testing on private water refilling and delivery services businesses in the city.

“We are now officially out of the woods,” Magalong said, adding, “we are now on the endemic phase where diarrhea cases are back to normal rate.” Way forward, Magalong said, is how the Baguio City
government is ‘finding out the culpability of private water delivery services, whom we now suspect as the most likely culprit in the illness outbreak’. On Wednesday, the Baguio Water District, declared all of its water sources safe from any contamination after clinically testing them.

This prompting Baguio City now to become more stringent in checking on compliance of private water delivery services to health standards, Magalong bared. ”Measures, standards and parameters, mas istrikto ngayobpara sigurado tayo na highly compliant sila sa health and sanitation standards.”
Thus, the outbreak, Magalong claimed, taught us many things. “Me silver ligning dito. One is kelangan pala nating baguhin ang ating sanitation code and probably come up with a safe water
ordinance.” Magalong also said that the city needs to implement more stringent policies to ensure (water delivery services) are compliant to standards.

Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN