By John Noel E. Herrera
The Iloilo City Government said cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in the metro are already on a downward trend, as seen in the daily reports presented by the city health office.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Trenas also attributed the decline in the number of cases to the city government’s actions in containing water-borne diseases, as well as to the improvement in sanitation and hygienic behaviors of the public.
“Gapanaog na (AGE cases) and undercontrol na kay ti timprano kita naghulag,” Trenas added.
Trenas also said that they are already looking into the possibility of lifting the calamity status due to AGE and cholera in the city, but emphasized that they still need to observe the situation and seek a recommendation from the Ilolo City Health Office (ICHO).
ICHO earlier said that they still need to make sure that the cases start to ‘steadily go down’, and those affected barangays will have their own improved water and waste systems before planning to lift the calamity status.
The ICHO also urged the public to remain cautious despite the decrease in cases as full access to safe potable water and sanitary toilets is yet to be achieved.
Data from ICHO indicated that the total reported AGE cases in the city per month has continued to decrease, from 517 cases in September to 256 cases in October and 213 in November. There were also only three new reported AGE cases, as of Dec 2, 2022.
Data showed that the city has already logged 1,216 AGE cases, but 98 percent or 1,191 cases, have already recovered, while 10 are still under treatment, and 14 have died.
There are also 49 confirmed cholera cases in the city, and all of them have already been discharged and have recovered.
