‘Snail fever’ reported in16 Tacloban villages

TACLOBAN CITY: The City Health Office said that cases of schistosomiasis, which may be cured if detected and treated early, have been reported in 16 barangay (villages) in the city.

The City Health Office Nurse Coordinator for Communicable Diseases Mel Maravilles said that the symptoms of schistosomiasis include stomach upset, headache, and vomiting.

“If a person is affected like this, it is appropriate to consult the nearest health center or even the city health office and get a blood or urine test so that the appropriate medicine can be provided free of charge,” Maravilles said.

“People with schistos symptoms should not worry or be concerned since the office’s focus is on the confidentiality of every patient who comes to their office,” he added.

Maravilles also said that there is no need to wait for the disease, which is sometimes known as snail fever, to get to an alarming or severe stage because it will spread throughout the body and eventually reach the person’s brain.

“People who have open wounds, scratches, or abrasions to the skin, especially on the feet, frequently exposed to dirty water, especially in places where there are confirmed cases of schistosomiasis, have higher chances of acquiring said disease,” Maravilles said.

Schistosomiasis, according to the Department of Health, is an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms known as trematodes or blood flukes.

In Eastern Visayas, the disease is prevalent in 897 villages and 63 municipalities.

The first schistosomiasis epidemic in the region occurred in 1944, when Americans and allied soldiers landed in Leyte during World War 2.