Elimination of filariasis

Nov 01, 2008 News

…50,000 people targeted in Region Five

As part of its efforts to fully eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Guyana, the Ministry of Health has commenced a massive deworming exercise in Region Five, where 17,000 homes are slated to be visited by more than 200 health volunteers, who are tasked with the responsibility of distributing Albendezol and DEC pills, which prevent lympathic filariasis.
At a press conference yesterday, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that everyone except children under two years old and lactating and pregnant women will be offered treatment.
A mapping exercise was done, and the region has since been divided into four clusters.
Cluster One will see six volunteers visiting families along the riverain areas all the way to Moraikobai, while Cluster Two will see 30 volunteers along the Novar-Dundee, Central Mahaicony, Bath-High Dam and the Catherine-Calcutta-Burma villages.
Cluster Three will have 33 volunteers targeting villages from Golden Grove to Union, Tempe to Litchfield, Belle View to Sea Field, and Rising Sun to Profit.
Additionally, Cluster Four will include the area of Ithaca to Shieldstown, Rosignol to Cotton Tree, Zeeside to Number 12, Bush Lot to Bath, Fort Wellington to Onverwagt, and Hopetown to Bel Air.
The exercise is expected to be completed by Sunday evening; and according to Minister Ramsammy, it would not only kill the lymphatic filariasis worm, but also will be active against all other form of worms.
“It took months of planning, and now we are at the stage of making it happen. So this is a huge exercise, and by any standard it is a new primary health care initiative and it will rank as one of a major primary health care initiative anywhere else in the world,” Minister Ramsammy said.
He added that, since Thursday night, a team of laboratory professionals has been in Region Five taking blood and stool specimens for the Ministry of Health to establish the base-line prevalence for lymphatic filariasis and other worms.
According to Minister Ramsammy, this study will be repeated six months from now, to determine the new prevalence and to measure the impact of the intervention in Region Five.
“It is highly scientific work, and it allows us to identify different kinds of diseases and where they are located in the country, so that we can eliminate them.
So, while it might seem like weird work, it is scientific work and public health work, and I hope that people will cooperate with us and help us to obtain those specimen stools, since it will indicate to us at the ministry what are the different kinds of parasites that are causing illnesses in people, so that we can target these illnesses and we can find where they are located so we can eliminate them as public health scourges in our country,” Dr. Ramsammy told media operatives.
During the course of the exercise, 300,000 tablets are expected to be distributed, while the Health Ministry is expected to reach out to the entire country by the end of June 2009.
Minister Ramsammy noted that DEC salt was introduced in 2003 in Guyana, and since then it has resulted in about 68 percent reduction in new cases of filariasis in various parts of Guyana.
He explained that the greatest impact has been in areas like Essequibo, where DEC salt was used with greater compliance than in any part of the country.
He added that one of the conditions that results from lymphatic filariasis is hydrocele (swelling of genitals); and in the last three years, the ministry has seen an 88 percent reduction in the diagnosis of new cases of hydrocele.
Globally, more than 120 million people live with lymphatic filariasis, with more than 40 million suffering from debilitating conditions, such as lymphoedema (swelling of limbs and breasts, swelling of genitals (hydrocele) and swelling of limbs with thick, rough and fissured skin (elephantiasis). Almost 20,000 Guyanese live with these conditions.
(Fareeza Haniff).

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Elimination of filariasis

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