Barili town in Cebu logs 30 typhoid fever cases, 2 deaths since start of year

Town's water districts told: Monitor pipelines, check for leaks

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Municipal Government of Barili in Cebu has ordered several water districts to monitor their pipelines after the town recently recorded 30 cases of typhoid fever.

In a social media post on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the information office of the town of Barili says that 16 of these cases are currently admitted at the Barili infirmary, while two others have already died since the start of 2022.

The information office also said that Barili Mayor Julie Flores already met with the local health officials of the town to discuss measures and steps to take amid the rising cases of typhoid fever in their town.

“Gipahibalo ni Municipal health officer, Dr. Bajarias, nga hugot nilang gipatuman ang information education campaign (IEC) ngadto sa kabarangayan kalabot sa kamahinungdanon sa pag-inom og limpyo nga tubig ug ang pagsiguro nga luwas gikan sa bakterya ang ilimnon sa mga sakop sa panimalay,” read a portion of the post.

(Dr. Bajarias, municipal health officer, has announced that they have strictly conducted their information education campaign (IEC) to the barangays about the importance of drinking clean water and ensure that this drinking water of the members of the family is safe from bacteria.

Typhoid fever, according to the World Health Organization, is a potentially fatal bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It is typically transmitted through contaminated food or water. Salmonella Typhi bacteria multiply and spread into the bloodstream after being eaten or drunk.

CDN Digital has already tried to reach the Barili RHU but as of this writing our phone calls were unanswered.

Among those who attended the meeting with the mayor were its Municipal Health Officer, Dr. Mary Joy Bajarias; with her assistant, Dr. Michelle Recto-Dagoy; sanitary inspectors, Florencia Muit and Shiela Bargamento; waterworks supervisor Earl Wendell Comiling, and representatives from its environment office, from the Barili Infirmary, and its municipal engineer.

Bajarias said patients of typhoid fever in their place might have had drank contaminated water; thus, she had encouraged its waterworks department to inspect its pipelines for possible leakage.

As of now, members of Waterworks Department are already conducting manual chlorination of water as the municipality does not yet have a chlorinator.

“Gitataw usab sa waterworks supervisor nga gihimo nila ang chlorination sa tubig nga gipangserbisyo sa tagalungsod. Gimanduan ang waterworks department ni Mayor Flores sa paghimo og inspection sa mga tubo sa tubig kon wala bay leaking nga mahimong source sa kontaminasyon sa tubig nga ginainom sa katawhan,” the Barili information office said.

(The waterworks supervisor also said that they have conducted chlorination of the water that they serve in the town. Mayor Flores also ordered the waterworks department to conduct an inspection of the water pipes if there were no leaks, which could be a source of contamination of water that people would drink.)

It also said that a team tasked by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia arrived in Barili to check the typhoid fever situation in their town.

According to the Municipality of Barili website, Barili is one of the towns in the province of Cebu which is located at least 62 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.

/dbs