Baguio city declares gastroenteritis outbreak
Baguio city Mayor Benjamin Magalong was not spared from gastroenteritis himself.
He joins us now on the line.
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He joins us now on the line.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong was not spared from gastroenteritis himself and he now joins us on the line.
00:06 Good morning Mayor Magalong, thanks so much for taking our call.
00:09 Good morning Ria, good morning to our viewers and good morning Paolo.
00:13 Alright, sir maybe you can start off by giving us an update on how many gastroenteritis cases exactly have been recorded in Baguio City as of now and where exactly did the outbreak start?
00:24 Okay, thank you. By the way, the data that is available to us is as good as 10pm last night.
00:32 So we have 2,119 cases and out of that number, 45 patients are still hospitalized.
00:40 They are doing well, nothing severe at the moment.
00:44 We will continue to contain the situation and at the same time we are doing our preventive measures and containment measures.
00:55 Also, investigations are ongoing with the help of the Philippine National Police and we are adding more sanitary inspectors and investigators in the field to be able to determine the source of the outbreak.
01:08 Alright, have you noticed if the cases are concentrated on a certain segment? Is it mostly elderly, young children or is it across the whole population?
01:19 Basically, it is across the entire population. Although we are giving more focus on pediatric cases because they are the most vulnerable.
01:31 We are also giving more focus on some elders but basically there is no specific sector in the population that is getting affected across. Almost everyone is getting affected.
01:45 Speaking of everyone, unfortunately you and your wife also got the infection yourselves.
01:51 Maybe you can talk to us a little bit about the severity of your symptoms. Is this like normal gastroenteritis which in and of itself is already not pleasant or was it worse?
02:01 Well, the first thing that I remember was that I got hydrated easily. Then I had diarrhea and then I got headache and I was actually dehydrated.
02:13 My wife was able to recover fast.
02:17 Right. How long does it last?
02:19 Until now, it's been 4 days and until now I still have abdominal discomfort. But the pain is already gone. I'm doing okay. It does not prevent me from going to the office.
02:39 Definitely good to hear that you're on the mend, Mayor. I want to talk a bit about the cause of the outbreak. As of this time, have you been able to find out the source?
02:49 What exactly are officials doing to address this and to get to the bottom of it?
02:54 We haven't identified the exact source. We're still doing gathering of specimens at home together with members of the Baguio Water District and our health sanitation officials.
03:09 At the same time, we're waiting for some results from our laboratories. We're using three laboratories at the moment.
03:17 We're using one particular laboratory for viral detection. Hopefully, results will be in today, tomorrow. It takes about three days to really determine and get the confirmatory results.
03:34 On the part of your LGU, sir, what exactly is the local government doing to help people who have fallen ill from this?
03:41 We're providing all the medical help, free medical assistance to everyone getting medical attention. BGHMC as well, that's the medical center.
03:53 It's also providing free medical treatment to all those affected. As I've said right now, we only have 45 patients now still in the hospital.
04:06 Right. Certainly, we hope that number doesn't get larger. Which hospitals are they at, Mayor?
04:12 Most of the patients went to the Baguio General Hospital Medical Center.
04:20 Right. As a final word, Mayor Magalong, what can you tell your constituents amid this outbreak? What is your message to them? Do you have any reminders?
04:29 Okay. To our fellow citizens of Baguio and to our visitors, we should avoid drinking tap water. Bring bottled water at the same time.
04:45 Bottled water is not yet available or purified water. Have your water boiled. From the start of the rainy season, boil it for six minutes to make sure the bacteria dies. Thank you very much, Rhea.
05:05 Alright, sir. We certainly hope you feel better soon and make a full recovery as soon as possible. That was, of course, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.