Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton is urging citizens to be cautious about their water access and consumption habits during the ongoing drought conditions.

“We are concerned about the drought conditions and the impact it is having on the availability of water and public health. We have sent out an advisory for persons to monitor the water they consume,” he said.

Tufton, during the ministry’s ‘Know Your Numbers’ tour stop at Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, recently, advised anyone with concerns about the purity of their water source to get in touch with the public health agency.

He said that special precautions must be taken during periods of drought, as cases of water-borne illnesses such as gastroenteritis tend to increase.

Dr Marcia Graham, medical officer for Westmoreland, said that not having access to safe water to wash hands or prepare food puts persons at risk for gastroenteritis and other diseases.

“If [persons] come down with vomiting and diarrhoea and if they don’t have safe water to drink and to mix the rehydration salt for the treatment of [those] symptoms to prevent dehydration, that can [also] become an issue,” she said.

“We need to make sure that we treat all water that we get as unsafe water. We need to make it safe by boiling, it or by using chlorine. Once we have done that, then that water can be used for food preparation to make drinks, to cook with, and so we ask persons to pay attention to that,” she said.

Graham advised proper hand hygiene before and after eating and using the bathroom, and to seek medical help if experiencing symptoms of gastroenteritis like vomiting and diarrhoea.

“Especially if it’s a child, bring them early to the health centre, to their private doctor or the hospital, so we can give them the appropriate rehydration whether by mouth or by setting an intravenous line (IV). We need to intervene early because dehydration can be deadly if we delay,” she said.