ILOILO City – The City Health Office (CHO) was able to administer the first dose of oral vaccine against cholera to 305 residents.
The vaccines were given to adults and children aged over one year old who have recovered from cholera, their close contacts and those who were sourcing water from deep wells which tested positive for cholera, according to Dr. Annabelle Tang, CHO officer-in-charge.
The 305 vaccinees were composed of 31 elderlies aged 60 years old and above, 112 adults aged 20 to 59 years old, 55 children aged 11 to 19 years old, and 107 children between one to 10 years old.
Tang said the vaccinees will get their second dose of cholera vaccine within this week, though last week, there were already four who got their second dose because they had their first dose ahead.
Meanwhile, according to CHO Medical Officer IV, Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, additional 2,000 doses of cholera vaccine are arriving but the brand can only be given to 11 years old and above.
The city government resorted to this brand of vaccine because there is no more source for the vaccine brand that can be given to those over one year old, Fortuna explained.
The rollout of this incoming batch of vaccines will be administered to confirmed acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases and their families.
As of Oct. 16, the number of total confirmed cases of AGE in the city was at 866, of which 32 were confirmed cholera cases.
Of the total figure, 20 are still active cases, 832 have already recovered while 14 died.
This southern city is still under a state of calamity due to AGE and cholera.
So far, though the number of daily cases logged has dropped, Fortuna said it cannot be said that the diseases have been controlled already.
“Una dapat may access sa safe water. Second, dapat waay ga-practice open defecation. Kon indi ta ma-address ang duha ni ka factors mabudlayan kita maghambal nga controlled ta na,” said Fortuna.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and the city government have been coordinating with Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, the city’s largest water distributor, with regards to giving the affected residents access to safe water.
“This is our priority right now,” said Fortuna.
The city government is also planning to build communal toilets in areas mostly affected by AGE and cholera.
It can be noted that most of the affected residents were sourcing water from E. coli and coliform-contaminated deep wells. Water samples from several water refilling stations also tested positive for coliform./PN