Ascaris worms. They can grow to 12 inches long.
Anita gave worm medicine to all the children in Marta’s family.
The next morning, worms were coming out of the baby’s mouth, and big lumps of worms were passing out of the other children.
The children are very, very infected with the worms which could cause blockage of the bowels. If not treated in time, this can even cause death. Meanwhile, the worms eat up the little bit of nutrition that the children do get, contributing to malnourishment.
Dr. Oscar spoke to the mother in her native Catchiquel language to insist that she give the three-day dosage to each child; she had only give one dose per child over three days. Dr. Oscar told us that some indigenous people don’t believe you should kill all the worms, because worms are needed to help you digest the food!
This once again reminds us of all the work that has to be done to help and to educate the villagers.