Beriberi knocks down several IRC prisoners
There's nothing to be alarmed in the recent hospitalization of a number of inmates from the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC) in Brgy. Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo.
Dr. Prim Parcon, chief of the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) in Pototan, Iloilo, said the inmates were only suffering from vitamin deficiency particularly Vitamin B1 or thiamine otherwise known as beriberi.
More than fifty prisoners were brought to the IPH afternoon of Wednesday after complaining that they feel weak and their feet swelling.
Parcon said only eleven prisoners were admitted while the others were released from the hospital after getting immediate medication.
Parcon said at first they thought that the inmates had lower potassium level but it was later ruled out after blood tests showed their potassium level was normal.
Provincial health officer Dr. Patricia Grace Trabado said beriberi or thiamine-deficiency is a degenerative disease of the nerves caused by a deficiency of the vitamin thiamine and marked by pain, inability to move, and swelling.
She said prisoners at IRC need to have an improved diet rich in Vitamin B1 to increase the amount of thiamine in their body.
Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. said measures are already in place to address the problem on vitamin deficiency at IRC.
He said they will talk with the caterer for the possibility of including food rich in Vitamin B1 like beans and legumes in the meals of prisoners.
Provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada said they have also taken up in their meeting to deploy a dietician to supervise the food served on IRC inmates.
It was learned from newly-appointed IRC warden Atty. Soteo Gardose that the budget for the meals of IRC prisoners is only P37.00 per day.
Gardose said to complement the nutritional needs of IRC inmates they are planning to conduct supplemental feeding regularly.
They will also encourage prisoners especially those who have light offenses to develop a vegetable garden inside the IRC compound.
Gardose said they are planning to plant bananas within the IRC compound as well as put up a fish pond where they could raise fishes which they could later harvest for their food.