Twelve wells in Purok Luhod-luhod, Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod City, were temporarily closed Friday, November 11, for chlorination, Dr. Grace Tan, head of the Environmental Sanitation Division of the City Health Office, said.
She said the chlorination on Friday was conducted to ensure that water is safe for residents after one well in Purok Luhod-luhod was found positive for the Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
The wells will be opened for use after 24 hours, she said.
The Office of the Mayor contracted the mobile water station of Prime Water to temporarily supply the needs of the residents of the purok, she said.
Luhod-luhod residents are asking for a Bacolod City Water District-Prime Water connection to their area so they will have permanent access to clean water.
The Philippine Red Cross mobile water station was expected to be in the area late Friday or Saturday morning, Tan said.
The cholera cases in Bacolod City have increased to 21, she said.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. People can get sick when they swallow food or water contaminated with the cholera bacteria. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.
About 1 in 10 people with cholera will experience severe symptoms, which, in the early stages, include profuse watery diarrhea, sometimes described as “rice-water stools”, vomiting, thirst, leg cramps, restlessness or irritability, it added.
The target of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is for all level 1 and 2 wells in Bacolod City to be disinfected, Tan said.
They will be temporarily closed down and chlorinated, she said.
The target is to test and disinfect the wells, but they don’t need to wait for the results to chlorinate if the sanitation inspectors determine that there is a big chance that the water is contaminated, Tan said.*