Food and nutrition security in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic placed the Philippines' food and nutrition issues front and center. In this paper, we discuss the response of its government in addressing food and nutrition security at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and describe its implications on nutritional status. We also cite initiatives that address food accessibility and availability in the communities. Lastly, we explore the importance of nutrition security dimension in food security. Methods: We analyze food and nutrition security issues in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic through online reports and news articles. Results: The distribution of food and financial assistance in the country was extensive, albeit insufficient, considering the prolonged lockdown restrictions. Constantly changing community quarantine guidelines have affected the movement of food supply, delivery of health services, and household economic security. Nutrition programs, such as vitamin A supplementation, feeding for children, and micronutrient supplementation for pregnant women, had lower coverage rates, and by the latter half of 2020, the country had reached its highest recorded hunger rate. Cases of both undernutrition and overnutrition are predicted to rise because of dietary imbalances and a variety of factors. Conversely, community members and some local government units took it upon themselves to improve the food situation in their areas. The provision of food packs containing fresh fruits and vegetables was lauded, as it exemplified a conscious effort to deal with nutrition security. Conclusion: Efforts to address food security have always focused on increasing accessibility, availability, and affordability, often neglecting the nutritional components of foods. Strategies that incorporate nutrition security into food security are much needed in the country, especially during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using complete blood count parameters in the diagnosis of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in Filipino women.

Objectives: Correct diagnosis of iron deficiency remains challenging due to the cost of ferritin tests. Physicians, especially those in resource-limited settings, may resort to a complete blood count (CBC) when considering iron deficiency and anemia due to its accessibility. Although this has been practiced, it is still beneficial to assess whether CBC parameters exhibit the diagnostic capability of discriminating such medical conditions. Materials and Methods: Serum ferritin and CBC were performed on venous blood samples of 170 Filipino women aged 18-44 years. The diagnostic ability of the CBC parameters to detect iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Iron deficiency was defined as a ferritin level <30 µg/L, while iron deficiency anemia was defined as a ferritin level <30 µg/L with hemoglobin level <120 g/L. Results: Ferritin levels correlated with red blood cell (RBC) count and hematocrit levels. With an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.60, a hematocrit cutoff value of 38.5% was found to have low discriminating power in diagnosing iron deficiency only. Five parameters were observed to have higher discriminating powers for iron deficiency anemia: RBC count cutoff at 4.04 × 1012/L with AUC of 0.73, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) at 84.10 fL with AUC of 0.77, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) at 337.5 g/L with AUC of 0.80, mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) at 29.15 pg with AUC of 0.81, and hematocrit at 35.5% with AUC of 0.96. Conclusion: CBC parameters can be a satisfactory discriminator for iron deficiency anemia among the women studied. However, further studies are needed to elucidate its utility in discriminating iron deficiency. With further investigations in this field, the potential use of CBC as a diagnostic tool for iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia is promising, particularly in rural areas.

Leptospira-rat-human relationship in Luzon, Philippines.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection that is caused by the pathogenic species of Leptospira. Rats are the most important reservoirs of these organisms. Our study aimed to characterize Leptospira isolates from humans and rats and elucidate the Leptospira-rat-human relationship in Luzon, Philippines. Forty strains were isolated from humans and rats. The isolates were confirmed to be Leptospira and pathogenic through rrl- and flaB-PCR, respectively. Around 73% of the isolates were found to be lethal to hamsters. Serotyping showed that there were mainly three predominant leptospiral serogroups in the study areas namely Pyrogenes, Bataviae, and Grippotyphosa. Gyrase B gene sequence analysis showed that all the isolates belonged to Leptospira interrogans. Most had 100% similarity with serovar Manilae (15/40), serovar Losbanos (8/40), and serogroup Grippotyphosa (8/40). Strains from each group had highly identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns and were further grouped as A (Pyrogenes, 14), B (Bataviae, 8), and C (Grippotyphosa, 10). Results further revealed that similar serotypes were isolated from both humans and rats in the same areas. It is suggested that these three predominant groups with highly similar intra-group PFGE patterns may have been primarily transmitted by rats and persistently caused leptospirosis in humans particularly in the Luzon islands.