CEBU, Philippines – Health officials are still trying to determine the cause of the outbreak of typhoid fever in the town of Alegria, but Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr. already has his own theory - it was caused by chicken manure.
Sanchez said that if his theory is proven true, Capitol may be blamed for the outbreak in the southwestern town.
He said the recent outbreak of diarrhea in Danao City could also be blamed on the manure that Capitol distributed to the farmers in the different towns and component cities.
Sanchez, a civil engineer by profession, has requested the office of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to have her staff check on the report.
But Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda belittled the findings of Sanchez.
"Good for him. Maybe he wants to send his stooges over on board government-issued vehicles to make a sales-pitch for his lacto products," Sepulveda said in his text message to The FREEMAN.
The family of Sanchez is involved in the business of health drinks and products using lacto bacillus bacteria.
Sanchez recently opposed a move of the Provincial Board commending Garcia for taking part in the Governors Summit Against Climate Change in the United States.
The resolution to commend Garcia was sponsored by Board Member Thadeo Ouano.
Sanchez had opposed the move to commend Garcia, saying no less than the Visayas Climate Action Now Network (Visayas-CAN) has criticized the governor for allegedly promoting environmentally-destructive projects like the coal plant and coal ash dumping facility.
Sanchez allegedly has attacked the organic program of the Provincial Agriculture Office because it has refused to buy his liquid fertilizer.
The province is giving chicken manure to farmers for free.
Sanchez owns a fertilizer firm promoting organic fertilizers.
Sanchez said that chicken manure is not safe unless properly decomposed and processed.
Sanchez cited a US News article which states that chicken manure often contains campylobacteria and salmonella bacteria, which can make humans sick.
MedicineNet.com states that typhoid fever is an acute illness associated with fever that is most often caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria. It can also be caused by Salmonella paratyphi, a related bacterium that usually leads to a less severe illness. The bacteria are deposited in water or food by a human carrier and are then spread to other people in the area.
Agriculture Business Week also reported that chicken manure has been creating a lot of havoc. It emits ammonia and sulfides, which are dangerous to the health of the birds as well as to humans.
In their report on a study on the contamination of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and celery after harvest in Benguet, health experts said that two types of illnesses are attributed to the consumption of foods contaminated by Bacillus cereus.
The first type is characterized by abdominal pain and diarrhea, while the other type is characterized by acute attack of nausea and vomiting.
Their data showed that the use of chicken dung as organic fertilizer needs to be monitored and regulated.
Marco Navasero, a researcher of the National Crop protection Center based at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna in a newspaper report admitted that chicken dung contains the highest NPK among all animal manure. NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, the soil's main ingredients.
Dr. Carlito Laurean, former Benguet State University research director in the same news report also said that since the manure hosts the residue of antibiotics injected in chickens, it could not be considered organic.
Sanchez said that the bacteria found in the chicken manure used by farmers possibly seep underground and mix into the source of water or if the water pipes have leaks.
"Ayaw na gyud na ninyo gamita kay delikado gyud na," Sanchez urged the farmers.
The Department of Health has declared an outbreak of typhoid fever in Alegria as over 300 have been afflicted.
Dr. Samson de la Peña, Municipal Health Officer of Alegria, said that if one is suffering from typhoid fever, the patient will have temperatures between 38 to 40 degrees Centigrade lasting from a week to ten days, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and diarrhea. -/NLQ (FREEMAN)