Jharkhand govt set to eradicate filariasis in 4 districts

The information was given by Gupta during inauguration of the Virtual Drug Administration (MDA) programme in these districts. He appealed denizens to take anti-filariasis medicines in front of trained health workers further adding that the success of filaria eradication programme is based on our credibility among people and our way of working.

He said that special care should be taken on the fact that no person should eat medicine on an empty stomach at all. In MDA programme, children below the age of 2, pregnant women and most seriously ill people, except age, dose of anti-filarial drugs will be fed by trained health workers.

The Health Minister directed the Mission Director Ravi Shankar Shukla to coordinate with the Deputy Commissioners of the four districts to conduct a thorough review of the MDA programme starting from February 22.

In addition, he directed that all the patients infected with filariasis in the state should be enlisted so that their health could be closely monitored and their disease treated properly.  State Programme Officer, Vector Borne Diseases, Dr SN Jha said that in this MDA programme, a target has been set by the state government to provide medicine to 71,04,911 people. He said that this filariasis infection in childhood causes damage to the lymphatic system, causing abnormal swelling in a person’s organs. People suffering from filariasis also have to suffer severe pain and social discrimination, which also affects their livelihood and ability to work. In comparison to women and children, men are twice as likely to develop this infection. In such circumstances, it is very important that all people should take anti-filarial medicines given free of cost by trained health workers once a year to protect themselves and their family from this infection.