Attack of the Amoeba! by: Noel Ong

Have you ever felt that excruciating pain in your stomach after you ate from an eatery near your school? Have you ever wondered what triggered it? Was it with their food? Or with the water they are using? Well you might have been infected by the single celled bacteria called Amoeba.

Amebiasis is caused by Entamoeba histolytica, a type of Amoeba protozoan found all over the world. Their likely occurrences are in the countries with less resistance or technology of water management system because human waste (containing Amoebas) tends to infect our drinking water causing us to have gastro internal attacks. Unfiltered water may contain millions of amoebas, and they reproduce rapidly. According to recent study made, amoebas account for more than 50,000 cases of gastroenteritis of Filipinos every year, leaving 1,000 people dead annually all over the world. So how can we prevent this microscopic army to attack us? The answer: a clean supply of water. Since amoebas live in filthy conditions, sometimes interfering with our water supply, Department of Natural Resources (DENR) is doing their best in maintaining the purity of the water we consume every day. Our water supply is being cleaned by filtering machines to eliminate impurities and other harmful bacteria. There are also water treatment plants in our country to treat the water that we use every day. The Department of Health (DOH) suggests that we should boil our drinking water before to help kill bacteria including the amoebas for more safety measures. Excellent hygiene still proves to be effective for preventing this disease. We are also advised by the local government to refrain from eating in street carts where cleanliness of the preparation of the food is questionable. Nevertheless, we in our selves should be always hygienic to prevent the infection of this disease. (photo by: chunkysmurf)