I wonder what Dame Whina would say.
WTF?? What parasites are these?
I am no expert although I have heard the saying, “Pigs will fly!” and blaming pigs for a human parasite infection is just wrong. Slowly murdering a species of human via repression and deflection needs calling out. Here we have it. Have a good read and a good look at the pictures, if you have the stomach for it.
Aue, aue. Is this how our tamariki must suffer?
This article, showing as another tip of the iceberg floating in the mental health sewage pond, brings us to the question asked by Gwendolyn Needham: “Are we heeding Dame Whina Cooper’s call to care for all our children ?”
I say the answer is a big“No!”.
“Kahore!”
Although the question is framed as a challenge and the article includes the iconic photograph,of the much revered Dame Whina Cooper, Needham digresses into the nebulous with a diatribe about love. While love is not to be disparaged, practical issues (such as parasite infestation) are being not only completely ignored but vigorously swept under the rug until the rug itself is inching towards the door, the door of the morgue by the way, seemingly self propelled.
Needham, though, for all the hearts and flowers, poses the question desperately needing attention.
Dame Whina famously led an historic land march from Pangaru to Wellington beginning 14 September 1975. One of her most quoted lines of pragmatic wisdom being………….
“Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear. Take care of what they see. Take care of what they feel. For how the children grow, so will be the shape of Aotearoa.”
So, no reira, “how far have we come?” or “kei hea tatou e tu ana??” & my interpretation:
Rome burns while Nero fiddles, or in this case, the country’s somewhere on its knees, divided, categorised into racially segregated boxes, befuddled by lies and deceptions, corporate speak and jargon, egged on by promises or fear mongering and data confused whilst all the data is sold to the highest bidder or the fastest hacker. The most illuminating article describing this present state I found recently in the Spinoff, and many thanks to Mr Hill for an honest assessment.
Needham writtes, ‘Parents are No 1 change agents.’ ……..but is this really true? Parents are bombarded with overwhelmingly confusing, demanding and inconsistent information. They are bombarded with requests for their childrens’ data, samples, fees, consultations, schedules and obligations, courtesy of a health system which itself is also under huge strain from repeated hacks and system re-designs. A system which can hardly manage a scabies outbreak, let alone recognise internal infestations. Parents are under immense pressure, not only time-wise but also the financial pressure of resource commitment. “Hmm, do I spend $22.00 on de-worming tablets or do I buy tonight’s dinner?” This may seem like loser territory but remember Gwendoline Needham’s question. Do we segregate the rich from the poor because, you know, icky parasites and germs, or do we demand realism in healthcare?
A budget is passed (May 2026) heralding new radiography equipment, new buildings, etc. etc.all grand stuff, (including $54million to Pharmac…. huh?) concurrent with doctors here in NZ and in Australia are being prosecuted, sanctioned and struck off the medical register for prescribing ivermectin.
Ivermectin is hailed as a wonder drug for a reason. It kills internal parasites. The inventors, Satoshi Omura and William Campbell, won a Nobel Prize, and to downplay the significance of their contribution to humanity is insulting and cheap. When a 15cm roundworm is found in a NZ child at the same time as doctors are being prosecuted for caring for their patients with an effective and cheap prophylactic, active alarm bells should be ringing louder than the cheers at Go Media Stadium for Auckland FC league Champion’s 2026 win.
But are they? Is sport now more important than the physical and mental health of our children when serious parasite infection is brushed off by blaming pigs? What is going on here? That is a stretch way too far, methinks.
Pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, naturally oppose information regarding Ivermectin’s remarkable success as an anthelmintic, as it’s use contradicts the ‘for profit’ model. Some countries are so badly misled that their inhabitants have never heard of it.
Meanwhile, NZ/Aotearoa coughs, aches, itches, and sickens, not only from ascaris but also hydatids, tapeworm, threadworm, hookworm, ropeworm, various other species, have a read:
Nematoda
Trematoda
- Flukes– Fluke worms (trematodes) are flat, leaf-shaped parasitic worms that can infect the human liver, lungs, blood, or intestine
Prosecuting doctors for caring for their patients is criminal, imo. Blaming pigs is just ludicrous. The worm they carry is a different subspecies of roundworm (ascaris suum). Treatment with mebendazole (recommended for pinworm/threadworm) is like putting a sticking plaster on a broken limb. It’s all we have and at $21.99 for 10 tablets required to treat a small family on a regular basis is expensive and inadequate.
As David Hill points out, we are two different species. One can travel freely to countries where ivermectin is available across the counter and the other, dumbed down and misinformed, suffering addictions to substances which numb the pain of being stuck in the downward cycle. We live in a changing world where what was effective in a previous era may not have kept up with the changing parasite profile presenting today. It is not helpful to deny the existence of any parasite. Who remembers taking their dogs to the hydatids strip when the county vet came periodically to dose the dogs against hydatids, which is another name for tapeworm? (Diphyllobothrium latum)
These days the GP surgery’s nurse advises that there is no tapeworm in New Zealand. Give me a break. Diphyllobothrium has seen many changes since Linnaeus first described Taenia lata. Over 50 species are currently recognised, and at least 14 of these have been reported in human infections, especially in circumpolar and Pacific regions.
The whole issue of a broken healthcare system could be fixed in a month by making ivermectin available across the counter.
