U.S. Water News Online
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- More than 700 people, mostly children, were hospitalized because of a diarrhea outbreak in a southern Philippine city that followed rumors that its water supply had been poisoned.
Officials quickly deployed troops to guard Zamboanga's reservoir from a Muslim extremist group, the Abu Sayyaf, which had threatened to poison the city's water supply.
More than 100 people were confined to hospitals in Zamboanga, about 530 miles south of Manila, since the outbreak, said Alejo Roxas, assistant manager of the local water cooperative.
``We can't take this lightly and we are taking precautionary measures. Sold iers have been deployed to guard the reservoir,'' Roxas said.
Patients complain of severe stomach pain and vomiting. No deaths have been reported.
Authorities were still analyzing water samples, Roxas said.
Roxas and city health officers appealed to the public over radio to boil their drinking water.
The outbreak occurred barely two days after rumors spread that the reservoir had been poisoned by the Abu Sayyaf. The group was holding an American and a Filipino hostage on an island south of Zamboanga.
Many radio stations were flooded with calls from anxious people reporting that their children were suffering from diarrhea. Villagers also reported that public health centers had run out of oral rehydration tablets.
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