Acute gastro-intestinal cases in Negros Oriental’s Vallehermoso town are still up despite containment measures as one more death was reported, a health official said on Monday, February 27.

However, Department of Health (DOH) provincial chief Jennifer Remollo told the Philippine News Agency that the latest casualty was not related to the surge of waterborne gastro cases recorded in the past weeks.

“The latest death was still due to acute gastroenteritis but based on a report from the local government unit of Vallehermoso, it was food-borne,” she said.

Nevertheless, the Provincial Health Office included this in their latest morbidity report, which showed that 259 cases with seven deaths were posted in the same town as of February 22.

On February 16, the provincial health office had already logged six deaths and 236 cases.

The latest report also showed that cases ranged from three months to 86 years old, affecting mostly the age group of one to 10 with 31 percent.

The majority of the cases were female, at 51 percent.

The barangays with the highest number of infections are Poblacion and Puan with 24 percent each, Bagawines (13 percent), Tabon (seven percent), and Malangsa (six percent).

Remollo said that starting around the middle of this month, the upsurge of gastro cases has slowed down already as health authorities continue to distribute jerry cans and water filtration tablets to residents. (PNA)