Lack of proper sanitation habits is seen as the reason for the majority of the 67 confirmed cholera cases, including two deaths, in Negros Occidental, Dr. Ernell Tumimbang, provincial health officer, said Tuesday, December 13.
Most of the cases are believed to have been caused by poor hygiene, especially in the handling of food, and not from contaminated water, he said.
That is because of all of the water samples taken from areas where cholera cases were reported, only one tested positive for Vibrio cholerae at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, he said.
He also pointed out that were no clustering of cholera cases.
If it was the water that caused the cholera, it would not be just one person but an entire family hit, Tumimbang added.
He said the long term focus should be on changing habits to ensure that proper sanitation is observed, and open defecation is ended.*