DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF CALAPAN

Gov. Infantado St., Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro

Critique Paper
(Journal)

Waterborne parasites: a current status from

the Philippines
Onichandran, S., Kumar, T., Salibay, C., Dungca, J., Tabo, H., Tabo, N., Tan, T., Lim, Y.,
Sawangjaroen, N., Phiriyasamith, S., Andiappan, H., Ithoi, I., Lau, Y., Nissapatorn, V., (2014).
Journal of Parasites & Vectors, 7:244

Submitted by:
Lourraine Mara M. Alzate
MAED SCIENCE

Submitted on:
May 11, 2019
 DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF CALAPAN

Gov. Infantado St., Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro

Waterborne parasites: a current status from

the Philippines
Onichandran et al.: Waterborne parasites: a current status from the Philippines. Parasites &
Vectors. 2014. 7:244

Having safe and clean water is one of the life-long necessities needed by living organisms

to survive. It is a common abiotic factor as part of the ecosystem that complete the entire biosphere.

This study aimed to create greater awareness of parasitic contamination in the water environment

of the Philippines and also to act as a platform of the current scenario for policymakers The study

caught my attention due to the result of a survey wherein Calapan River is included in the Top

Dirtiest River in the Philippines. Dreaming to the change the world doesn’t start with a big step;

its challenge starts within or in the smallest value around you. There are a lot of water environments

or drinking sources present here in Calapan City and awareness should start within.

According to the study, Philippines is part of the developing countries that mirrors issues

with unavailability of clean water due to man-made factors. I agree with the statement in the study

that waterborne diseases and outbreaks was not curbed due to insufficient level of water education.

Problems will not arise for people who collect their water from water-filtering stations or treated-

water. This issue is not common in urban areas and rural areas where safe drinking water is paid.

It has its greatest impact to people in ethnic groups/ indigenous people and poor/deprived

communities. Another challenge in this study was the lack of reports on waterborne pathogen

occurrence, mainly maybe due to availability of materials. Testing of water should be immediately

processed in laboratories for detection of parasites but due to unavailability of laboratories that can

process the procedure, few studies were made about waterborne parasites. In the methods of the

study, to assess the existence of parasites in the Philippines, samples were collected from different

parts of the country. The study was purely scientific so the methods used were based from

protocols especially in the part of processing water samples. If this study will be conducted in

Calapan area, the filtering and screening process will be a huge problem. The samples that will be

collected should be tested immediately to gather reliable results. I am not fully aware of any

laboratories here in Calapan wherein you will be allowed to conduct your study using their

laboratory and materials. If ever there will be one, these kind of studies should be given

importance.
 DIVINE WORD COLLEGE OF CALAPAN

Gov. Infantado St., Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro

Based from the results and conclusion, the samples from the drinking waters were free

from Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. contamination unlike in the rivers where all locations

were positive from its contamination. Regarding PCR analysis for Acanthamoeba spp and

Naegleria spp., its presence was detected in lower percentage but still the gathered samples were

contaminated. Physicochemical analysis of water samples shown that the data from the parameters

didn’t meet the minimal requirement for Dissolve oxygen and ammonia. The data presented

different contamination in different areas. Some data were surprising just like the contamination

of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in swimming pools while other data were common like

the presence of the same parasites in rivers where there are informal settles and slaughter house.

Acanthamoeba spp. and Naegleria spp. were detected in almost all recreational water stations and

some drinking water samples. Interpreting the data from the study was worrying considering that

those organisms can cause parasitic infection from consumption of foods.

The study regarding waterborne parasites as an issue in the Philippines gave a lot of

information that can also be a key to solve the problem. The researchers are aware that future

studies should be carried out in order to provide an extensive assessment with the occurrence of

parasites contamination in the water environment. Waterborne outbreaks have not been reported

yet in the Philippines, but should we wait for it to happen? This study is very beneficial to estimate

the prevalence of waterborne parasites in the Philippines, and also to inform and to educate about

the occurrence of water pathogens. We cannot immediately mandate people to stop the growing

population, irrigation needs, rapid industrialization and urbanization that cause the low availability

of clean water so educating and informing them would be a good step towards achieving clean and

safe water environments.