Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) — The Baguio City government has recorded 3,087 self-reported cases of acute gastroenteritis, a local health official said Sunday.
In a news conference, Baguio City Health Services Office (CHSO) head Celia Flor Brillantes said of the over 3,000 cases, 691 or around 22% sought hospital consultations.
\”[On] Jan. 9, we were getting a significant decline of our cases. Today, we only had three reporting cases in our system. [The] majority are females and belong to the age group of 21 to 30 young adults,\” Brillantes said.
She said stool samples from 10 patients admitted for acute gastroenteritis were positive for norovirus and sapovirus, which experts said were the common causes of the disease.
\”Through the stool samples that the Baguio General Hospital submitted to the RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine)…10 stool samples were submitted and five were positive for norovirus,\” the health official said. \”And then three out of the 10 were positive for sapovirus. Two samples were positive for both.\”
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong earlier told CNN Philippines’ The Source that 45 people were hospitalized due to the illness, whose symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
The US National Center for Biotechnology Information defines gastroenteritis as an infection or inflammation affecting the stomach and intestines when contaminated food and water are ingested.
The city has been documenting gastroenteritis cases since Dec. 21, 2023 and an outbreak was officially declared by Magalong on Jan. 10.
\”Unless we are able to identify the causes, circumstances, saka pa lang natin masasabi confidently na tapos na. Pero looking at the current trend ng epidemiological curve, we’re getting there,\” Magalong said when asked if the worse was over.
[Translation: Unless we are able to identify the causes, circumstances, only then can we confidently say that it is over. But looking at the current trend of the epidemiological curve, we’re getting there.]
Donabel Panes, head of the CHSO’s Epidemiology Surveillance Unit, said they were still waiting for the results of the bacteria test done on the patients’ stool samples. She said the virus findings came Saturday night.
With the development, authorities are set to again subject water sources previously found to be contaminated in another test, this time for the viruses.
The local government earlier said 18 water sources have tested positive for coliform — 12 from water delivery firms, four from food establishments, one from a residential place, and another from a school. Eight samples also tested positive for E. coli.
Ian Christian Gonzales of the Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau said they \”cannot say for certain\” if there was a single source for the outbreak as the investigation is still ongoing.
\”Ang pwede pa lang natin ma-generalize is likely hindi siya sa food because it has continued for some time, more likely na water siya,\” Gonzales said.
[Translation: What we can generalize for now is that it’s likely not from food because it has continued for some time, so it’s likely water.]
