Squid over state to fight MERS

While the North Korean authorities step up
efforts to ward off MERS
, residents, distrustful of the state’s policies and
ability to block the disease, are resorting to folk remedies to stay healthy,
Daily NK has learned.   

“These days, citizens are applying various preventative
measures in order to deal with MERS, rampant in South Chosun [South Korea],” a
source from South Hamkyung Province told Daily NK on the 28th. “Squid was
effective in treating paratyphoid, which wreaked havoc on North Korea a decade
ago, and there are many who are seeking out the cephalopods again.”
 

When paratyphoid swept over the country in
the past, eating boiled squid from the East Sea became known among residents as a miracle
cure, reportedly putting patients on the fast track to recovery and helping them regain
their appetite; these results fed the notion of squid as a panacea among the population,
according to the source.
 

“The citizens think that squid will be just
as effective to treat MERS because the state cited fever as one of the
affliction’s main symptoms– just like paratyphoid,” she explained.
 

Paratyphoid is an acute infectious disease
caused by bacteria known as Salmonella enterica. It affects the digestive
system and is similar to typhoid in that it riddles those afflicted with infection and inflammation of the stomach. After a latent period, it can present symptoms ranging from fever and rash to headaches and diarrhea.
 

She conceded that while there is absolutely
no “scientific evidence pointing to how a salty, boiled soup of squid is
effective in curing infectious diseases that entail high fever, vomiting, and
diarrhea,” she herself cannot deny its salubrious effects;
by partaking in this squid broth, she overcame similar symptoms within two to three
days been cured of the same ailments within two or three days in the past. 
She also attested to having seen the same effects in others.  

This reporter has also benefited from the
effects of this remedy for something similar during his time in North Korea.
 

These beliefs render state lectures on hygiene
and food sanitation of little comfort to the population; most have
long lost faith in the state’s crumbling medical system and are fully prepared
to devise their own methods to cope with medical threats.  

“Citizens in this place cannot get provisions of treatment drugs even when various infectious diseases spread. So they actively use these folk remedies rather than listening to the authorities,” she explained, adding that the East Sea is replete with squid, bringing relief to many who feel equipped to combat a potential infiltration of MERS.

The protracted nature of these views, she added, is yet another situation
that can be ascribed to a solid foundation of social distrust regarding
anything the Ministry of Health says or does–even if the advice is sound.
 

“There has not been a problem so far, but
the possibility for infectious diseases to spread rapidly always remains since folk remedies are far from scientifically verified [for prevention and
treatment],” she pointed out.

*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.