Door-to-door anti-filariasis drive in Lucknow from Monday
LUCKNOW : A filariasis drug will be administered en masse to Lucknowites from Monday as part of the National Filariasis Eradication Campaign, Dr Manoj Agrawal, chief medical officer of Lucknow, said on Friday.
Addressing a press conference, Dr Agrawal said, “The campaign, aiming to administer the drug to about 45 lakh people in Lucknow, will run till December with 3,673 teams. These teams shall visit each house in the state capital to administer the drug to individuals above the age of two-years.”
World Health Organization representative Dr Tanuj said filariasis is an infectious disease caused by mosquito bites. When a mosquito bites a person infected with filariasis, then the parasites of filariasis, which we call micro-filaria, reach the blood of the mosquito and when this mosquito bites a healthy person, then the filariasis parasite reaches the blood of a healthy person.
“This disease can be avoided by taking the medicine once a year,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary-general, Association of International Doctors.
National Vector Borne Disease Control Program nodal officer Dr KP Tripathi said ASHA and Anganwadi workers will go door-to-door to give the filariasis medicines (Albendazole and Diethylcarbamazine). “Children under the age of two years, pregnant women and people suffering from serious diseases should not take these medicines,” he said. The medicine should not be taken on an empty stomach and is to be chewed.
Also, 100 RRT teams have been formed to prevent adverse effects of drug consumption, said Yogesh Raghuvanshi, district health education officer.