DOH wages war vs intestinal worms

The Department of Health (DOH) embarked yesterday on a campaign against intestinal worms, which affect more than half of Filipino children.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III warned that infected children "face more adverse consequences" such as chronic malnutrition, poor academic performance, frequent school absences and lifelong disability, which "leads to poverty because of subnormal growth and development.

The DOH seeks to deworm 85 percent of all Filipino children below 12 years old in order to bring down the prevalence rate of intestinal worm infection from 54 percent to 30 percent by 2010.

For children below five years old, the DOH will conduct deworming in April and October at health centers all over the country as part of the agency’s "Garantisadong Pambata" project.

The Department of Education will deworm children aged six to 12 years old in January and July.