LINGAYEN – The Department of Health (DOH) regional office based in La Union appears to have scored an initial success with zero diarrhea case in three months with its Safe Water System (SWS) project implemented in one town and one municipality once affected with an outbreak of diarrhea diseases consistent with cholera.

Dr. Gloria Balboa, deputy regional director of DOH said that while the project’s result is not yet conclusive, the DOH has decided to expand it to other central Pangasinan towns that are considered high risk in diarrhea cases based on an experience in 2004.

The DOH will spearhead the expansion-launching activities on September 27 at Lenox Hotel, Dagupan City.

The new areas will include Bayambang, Basista, San Carlos City, Malasiqui, Mapandan, Sta. Barbara and Bolinao. These communities experienced a cholera outbreak in 2004 due to unsafe drinking water.

Balboa said in the 2004 cholera outbreak experience, it was established that the secondary cause was due to the use of unsafe and contaminated water for drinking.

This prompted the DOH region 1, through the recommendation of World Health Organization (DOH), to embark on an immediate mechanism for household water treatment and safe water storage called SWS.

The SWS project is a point-of-use treatment of drinking water using 1.25 percent of sodium hypochlorite solution, and the use of safe water storage in plastic container with a cover and a faucet.

After the pilot testing of the project in 2005 in San Carlos City and Malasiqui, the results were presented before the SWS Technical Working Group, staff/personnel of the Bureau of Food and Drug, National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Bureau of International Health Cooperation and WHO.

An agreement was reached to expand the project to 20 percent of all high-risk households in Pangasinan, including La Union, Balboa said. – EVA

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