Tales from the Snail Trail

Once upon a time, in a province ten hours north of the mighty Manila, lived many hardworking Filipinos. This sprawling land, filled with rice terraces and cornfields, just off the Pacific Ocean, had recently fallen victim to the dreaded snail. This black snail, no larger than a grain of rice, was host to the a parasite. Dangerous to humans, the parasite seeps into the skin and causes schistosomiasis – a debilitating disease of the GI tract. In hopes for a master plan to halt the nasty buggers, our team of eight (including 4 Japanese, the oldest of which may or may not be Mr. Miyagi) trekked to Cagayan. We forged our way through the fields and down the valley to seven sites near villages where schisto is endemic. From there we spent hours scrutinizing the tall grass and marshland for these sneaky villans. Collecting over 700 snails from these sites, we hitched up our wagon, headed back to the great school of UPM and analyzed our data, developing program interventions as we went. And the people of Cagayan lived happily ever after…

Well, not entirely true. But it was a very successful trip! And the weather was on our side (I can only imagine doing the backbreaking work we did in the pouring rain). Not to be cocky, but I must say I have become quite the snail detector (my aching body will attest to this). After collecting all our samples, Dr. Leonardo presented our initial findings to the regional, provincial, and municipal health officers and provided suggestions to help prevent human contact with the snails. We spent all of today crushing snails to inspect how many were infected. The sad news was that far more were than we had hoped, including a site that had not been previously. I’m excited though to see how our research will develop into action!

This segment of the journey is completed, but tomorrow begins anew. I fly out to Bohol to meet the Canadian boys – for real this time – and enjoy a few days exploring breathtaking beaches, seeing Tarsiers and of course visiting the Chocolate Hills. So until next time…to infinity and BEYOND!