Docs warn of airborne spread of worms

Beware of dust in the wind for it can cause not only coughing but even parasitic infection.

Health experts warned the public against airborne transmission of parasitic infections which are commonly acquired through soil transmission or poor sanitation.

Dr. Vicente Belizario, a parasitology expert from the University of the Philippines (UP), said ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm infections can now be potentially transmitted through inhalation.

"A child or even an adult can acquire parasitic infection by inhalation of dust infected with eggs of worms," Belizario told participants of a public health forum on control of soil-transmitted helminths.

Belizario noted that an infected person can transmit 10 million parasitic eggs per gram of feces and spread the infection to a great number of people in his community.

"Parasitic infection is not just a problem of one child because it can spread to other members of the household and the community and it can become a nationwide health problem," he said.

He cited studies indicating that 90 percent of students in public schools nationwide and one out of 10 teachers in a school in Laguna are infected with parasites and probably spreading the infection to others.

According to Belizario, the public health problem should be properly addressed immediately because it has already led to underdevelopment of many school children.

Parasitic infection can cause abdominal pains, reduced cognitive development, lack of height, anemia and other serious complications, and even death.

"Parasites can sometimes get into the gall bladder and lead to the death of the infected person," he said.

In fact, Belizario said, 10 worms can suck as much as .5 cubic centimeter of blood a day from an infected person while 20 ascaris can consume .7 gram of carbohydrates.

"Some P725 million worth of rice is lost annually because of parasitic infection and this loss does not include the health problems suffered by those infected," he said.

To address the problem, Belizario urged the government and the private sector to jointly undertake mass treatment of infected school children and a health education campaign.

He urged the public to observe proper hygiene and environmental sanitation to prevent further spread of parasitic infection.