By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental’s San Carlos City was placed under a “state of health emergency” on Wednesday, February 22, after a rising number of amoebiasis cases was recorded in the city.

Mayor Renato Gustilo said the number of amoebiasis cases in the city is more than a hundred already, with Barangay Bulwangan as the worst-hit village.

They also recorded one fatality due to the illness.

Gustilo said they are now determining the source of the rising amoebiasis cases.

Meanwhile, in an executive order signed by Gustilo, he ordered the city’s village chiefs to coordinate with their respective barangay health workers and to conduct an information drive for their respective constituents.

The mayor also advised the city’s residents to boil their drinking water, and to keep their surroundings clean in an effort to prevent cases from further surging.

Amoebiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite called Entamoeba histolytica, which is spread through human feces.

Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, stomach tenderness, and occasional fever./DGB, WDJ