Parasites and corruption, hand in hand

It is really astonishing and at the same time sad that in this day and age, there are still those permanently affected by parasites. In our travels for Rated K, we heard of a barangay where majority of the people had enlarged abdomens. We decided to investigate and that brought us to Barangay Manat in Agusan del Sur. This barangay is well off the grid, so to speak. Far from the fast urban life that most us, even here in Cebu, know of. True enough, we saw the enlarged girths of women and men alike, young or old. It was as if they were from a tribe that practiced the enlargement of abdomens, or something like that.   

Schistosomiasis is the condition we were seeing here. A water-borne disease, where the trematode or worm initially develop in freshwater snails. When they reach a certain stage called cercariae, they are released into the water. As free swimming parasites, they wait to attach to the skin of unsuspecting humans, where the infection begins. They travel within the bloodstream from the skin to the lungs, then to the liver. This is where they do the most damage. They develop into full grown adult worms, find a mate, and start laying eggs. Adult worms normally find themselves in the blood vessels that supply the liver, causing the classic enlargement of the liver and the spleen. Because of the ensuing portal hypertension, the liver “weeps”, giving rise to ascites or the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal area, hence the enlarged abdomens. That was my attempt to explain what we saw in this pitiful place.

We did see the possible source of the infection. There exists an old irrigation canal that has become stagnant with time. And to our horror, this canal serves all the water needs of the barangay. And I mean all! From washing to bathing, to becoming the public toilet for everyone to use as well. Since the worm is free swimming and just waits for a host, this is the perfect place for that. The worm itself is easily eradicated with the proper antihelminthic, or anti-worm for us everyday folk. But when the portal hypertension and the ascites sets in, it is irreversible. They just have to live with it.

So prevention is the key, and the key is for the people to stop using the irrigation canal for their daily water needs. In other words, they need a clean water source. This is where it becomes sad. Sad because it could have been an easy fix, if it were not for corrupt local officials who have for years pocketed the funds allocated, even donated to build a deep well water pump for the barangay. Millions were stolen by the former mayors, a husband and wife team – sound familiar - in the course of their successive terms. They are now paying the price for their crimes, thank God, but I’m sure it is not enough. We’ll leave it to the system for now.

What has to be done is to finally provide a good, clean water source for the more than 60,000 inhabitants of the area. No wonder, this area is indeed voter-rich! We will continue to monitor what is being done about this, and not just provide an idiotic band-aid remedy like the wearing of rubber boots! Clean water is a right of every community. And as I said, in this day and age, that should no longer be a problem. We found out why it was. Corruption.

Now that is not surprising at all.