Diarrhea hits flooded Pampanga town b’gays

MASANTOL, Pampanga – Twenty children here were rushed to hospitals in Pampanga and Bulacan for severe diarrhea after drinking water from deep-well pumps, which have been submerged in floodwaters.

A team from the Philippine Medical Association, assisted by the Maynilad Water central office, declared water from deep wells in eight barangays here unfit for human consumption.

The wells are located in barangays Nigui, Alauli, SagradaFamilia, Bagang, Balibago, Baco, Iscundo and SapangKawayan.

The severe diarrhea cases were discovered by the PMA as they rushed the victims to hospitals.

On board several boats, PMA doctor-volunteers braved the floods during the weekend and were able to provide medical and psycho-social services to some 3,000 families.

Dr. Michael Aragon, chief of the PMA media affairs, said the water samples revealed coliform and E.Coli bacteria. He urged the residents refrain from drinking water from the affected wells.

Warning of possible diarrhea outbreak, Aragon appealed to town and barangay officials to provide the affected folk with potable drinking water and warning them of the contamination of water from their pumps.

The presence of Coliform bacteria in drinking water indicates that disease-causing organisms or pathogens could be in the water system. Most pathogens that contaminate water supplies usually come from the feces of humans or animals, Aragon said.

He said that E.Coli is a sub-group of the fecal coliform group and its presence indicates recent fecal contamination and a greater risk of the presence of pathogens or microorganisms that cause diseases. -- Punto Central Luzon