DAVAO CITY — Three persons died while 21 others rushed to the hospital as diarrhea outbreak hit the village of Sindulan, Barangay Tama R. talayan on Maguindanao del Sur early this week.
Dr. Mohammas Ariff Baguindali, chief of Maguindanao Integrated Provincial Health revealed they recorded the first death on December 21, 2023, involving a 14-yerar-old child but the cause of his death was still unknown
Two weeks after, residents who attended the “tah’jia” or wake of the first victim started to complain of severe stomachache, started puking, which resulted to the death of two more resident including a two-year-old child who is a relative of the first victim.
The laboratory test result, according to Baguindali, showed that the victim suffered sever diarrrhea due to Vibrio Cholera. The Health department defines  Vibrio cholerae, also known as Vibrio comma bacteria,  causes Asiatic cholera.
The health authorities learned taht two weeks before the first case was reported, a fish kill happened in a pond just meters away where the pitch water pump was located.
The water pump serves as the only water source among residents, everything emantes from the pump, from drinking water, to the cleaning of chemical sprayers which uses pesticides among farmers in the village.
“It is the only water source of the villages,” the doctor said.
“Possibly Cholera in the water, everyoen shares the same water source and the common denominator is the river,” Baguindali emphasized.
After the incidenr the local health authorities started to ration water in the village to ensure that their water is safe.
The provincial health office sent the water sampls to the Departmetn of Health for further laboratory test.
As of Wednesday the situation has been under control while the residents were no lonegr allowed to gat water fromthe pump.
