Poverty, hunger spur worm outbreak in Zamboanga del Norte

from the Inquirer

By Julie Alipala
Mindanao Bureau

SIAYAN, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines -- Mayor Wilfredo Suasico has blamed poverty for the outbreak of Capillariasis, which already claimed at least 70 lives here during the past three months.

Suasico said residents were repeatedly told to refrain from eating freshwater fish and shrimps because these were found to be infected with Capillaria worms but people ignored the dangers to quell their hunger.

"They keep on eating them, even if these are prohibited, because of poverty and they have no other food to eat," Suasico told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

Residents here are dependent on corn and rice farming. They harvest at least twice a year but their income is simply not enough, according to officials.

Suasico said residents have been getting freshwater fish and shrimps from lakes, springs and rivers.

Dr. Raymund Nadela, municipal health officer, said freshwater fish and shrimps sourced from these lakes and rivers were infected with Capillaria worms.

"These shrimps and fish are carrying this type of worm known as Capillaria, a microscopic worm that gets into the intestine and eats up all the nutrition of the person," he said.

Capillaria is deadly when left untreated but is curable through a 20-day course of the de-worming agent, Avendazole.

Nadela said many residents had been infected but after treatment, they ate fish and shrimps from these sources again.

"They were already told not to eat fish and shrimps from these bodies of water but they would not listen," he said.

But Suasico said the stubbornness of the residents was "due to poverty.”

Suasico added that being poor prevented residents from seeking medication for the disease.

Marilou Andus, a midwife who frequents Moyo, one of the villages affected by the outbreak, said the treatment of Capillariasis could take up to three months.

"The patient has to take supplements like vitamins but due to poverty, they could not maintain it," Andus said.

She said patients not completely healed could still die upon the re-occurrence of infection.

Nadela said they were thinking of other ways to prevent the spread of Capillariasis by working with non-government organizations.

He said among the measures being considered was helping residents to build their own toilets.

"Having toilet facilities is very important," Nadela said, adding that the worm could spread through human waste.