Barangay head defends use of frogs to fight dengue
Published Aug 30, 2019 05:32 pm
By Alexandria Dennise San Juan
A barangay chief in Quezon City responsible for the release of at least a thousand frogs as part of the anti-dengue campaign insisted that the amphibians are safe and non-poisonous.
(Photo courtesy of Barangay Matandang Balara)
"They are frogs that came from the rice field. They are not cane toads and they are not poisonous," Barangay Old Balara Captain Allan Franza said in an interview on Friday.
Franza issued the explanation after experts noticed that the frogs that were released to curb mosquito breeding were actually cane toads.
Prof. Leticia Afuang from the University of the Philippines Los Baños said cane toads, characterized with rough skin similar to those released in Old Balara, could be harmful to the ecosystem.
"They can destroy the area. They can change the ecosystem conditions in the area. I find them very abundant in poultry areas where there are a lot of fecal material. They get parasite themselves, they get diseases, they can be vector of other diseases," Afuang said.
Afuang, who is also a herpetologist, said cane toads have poison glands which are dangerous to cats and dogs, and even people.
Franza maintained that the frogs are not poisonous, saying that one of his staff cooked and ate some of them.
"It is not poisonous. Actually, I have a staff who ate these frogs. The frogs that I released, he cooked 30 of them, adobo style, and ate them. He's okay," Franza said.
Franza said the frogs are "palakang bukid" and were gathered from a rice field in Baras, Rizal.
He added that they have been interviewing the community since the release of the frogs last weekend and there were no negative comments or even reports on someone being poisoned after eating the frogs.
"They all have positive comments. There are no complaints that someone was poisoned by the frogs or a cat or a dog has died. Nothing," he said.
Franza said the frogs were placed in creeks, rivers, and vacant lots in the barangay to prevent the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
The idea, he said, came from members of the barangay’s Task Force Dengue committee after the Department of Health (DOH) declared a national dengue epidemic earlier this month.
The village head stressed that releasing insect-eating frogs to stop the spread of mosquito-borne diseases has been "tried and tested" in the barangay.
"Our barangay was once a field full of frogs. I never observed any case of dengue then because of the presence of frogs eating mosquitoes and flies. We thought it might be helpful to have frogs here in our community again," Franza said.
Franza said they are monitoring if the frogs were still needed since the cases of dengue in the barangay have dropped.
"From the top 6 , we are now in the top 26 all over Quezon City. If we no longer need the frogs, we will just continue the regular clean-up program," he said.
(Photo courtesy of Barangay Matandang Balara)
"They are frogs that came from the rice field. They are not cane toads and they are not poisonous," Barangay Old Balara Captain Allan Franza said in an interview on Friday.
Franza issued the explanation after experts noticed that the frogs that were released to curb mosquito breeding were actually cane toads.
Prof. Leticia Afuang from the University of the Philippines Los Baños said cane toads, characterized with rough skin similar to those released in Old Balara, could be harmful to the ecosystem.
"They can destroy the area. They can change the ecosystem conditions in the area. I find them very abundant in poultry areas where there are a lot of fecal material. They get parasite themselves, they get diseases, they can be vector of other diseases," Afuang said.
Afuang, who is also a herpetologist, said cane toads have poison glands which are dangerous to cats and dogs, and even people.
Franza maintained that the frogs are not poisonous, saying that one of his staff cooked and ate some of them.
"It is not poisonous. Actually, I have a staff who ate these frogs. The frogs that I released, he cooked 30 of them, adobo style, and ate them. He's okay," Franza said.
Franza said the frogs are "palakang bukid" and were gathered from a rice field in Baras, Rizal.
He added that they have been interviewing the community since the release of the frogs last weekend and there were no negative comments or even reports on someone being poisoned after eating the frogs.
"They all have positive comments. There are no complaints that someone was poisoned by the frogs or a cat or a dog has died. Nothing," he said.
Franza said the frogs were placed in creeks, rivers, and vacant lots in the barangay to prevent the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
The idea, he said, came from members of the barangay’s Task Force Dengue committee after the Department of Health (DOH) declared a national dengue epidemic earlier this month.
The village head stressed that releasing insect-eating frogs to stop the spread of mosquito-borne diseases has been "tried and tested" in the barangay.
"Our barangay was once a field full of frogs. I never observed any case of dengue then because of the presence of frogs eating mosquitoes and flies. We thought it might be helpful to have frogs here in our community again," Franza said.
Franza said they are monitoring if the frogs were still needed since the cases of dengue in the barangay have dropped.
"From the top 6 , we are now in the top 26 all over Quezon City. If we no longer need the frogs, we will just continue the regular clean-up program," he said.