MANILA, Philippines - In just a week, Nearly 200 people have been afflicted by typhoid fever in Alegria town, Cebu province.
Dr. Samson dela Peña, a local health officer, said that at least 197 town residents have been confined in various hospitals due to typhoid fever.
Dela Peña said a total of 27 people are confined at the Reinhard Wirtgen Memorial Hospital in Alegria town, 10 in various hospitals in Malabuyoc and Badian towns at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.
He said at least 160 more have sought consultations at the rural health center due to high fever.
A radio dzMM report said that Alegria residents starting rushing to hospitals last week.
The provincial health office said that majority of the patients are residents of barangays Filomena and Poblacion.
It said that health workers and a medical mission team from the Philippine Army were scheduled to arrive in Alegria on Thursday to check on the patients.
The provincial health office said samples from barangays Poblacion and Filomena have been taken to check for the presence of salmonella typhi virus, which causes typhoid fever. -- reports from Rachelle Dalangin, ABS-CBN Cebu and June Perez, radio dzMM