Mass drug administration campaign and National Deworming Day program is starting from 27 February
A total of 14583936 beneficiaries of 61 development blocks of 17 districts will be given medicines to stay safe from filariasis
Raipur (Chhattisgarh): 26 February, 2025: Mass drug administration campaign is being run continuously for the elimination of filariasis in the state. In this sequence, from 27 February to 13 March, 2025, Mass Drug Administration Campaign (MDA) and National Deworming Day program will be run in 61 development blocks of 17 districts of the state. Out of these, this campaign will be started in 14 districts (Raipur, Gariaband, Balodabazar, Mahasamund, Balod, Bilaspur, Mungeli, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Sakti, Janjgir-Champa, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Surguja, Surajpur and Jashpur) with 3 medicines DEC, Albendazole and Ivermectin, and in 03 districts Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Bastar districts with 2 medicines DEC and Albendazole. Commissioner, Health Services, Directorate of Health Services, Chhattisgarh informed that in the mass drug administration campaign, to protect about 14583936 beneficiaries of all sections of the district from filariasis, the prescribed dose of DEC, Albendazole and Ivermectin will be administered free of cost by 53015 drug administrators in 30406 booths and door-to-door in their presence. Also, 5190 supervisors have been deployed to monitor the campaign. Commissioner, Health Services informed that anti-filariasis drugs are completely safe and certified by the World Health Organization (WHO). This drug is given to eliminate the filariasis infection growing in the body. He said that except children below 2 years of age, pregnant women and seriously ill people, the target is to administer anti-filariasis drugs to everyone in the presence of drug administrators.
It would be appropriate to mention here that along with this campaign, National Deworming Day program is also going on under which half a tablet i.e. 200 mg Albendazole tablet is given to children between 1 to 2 years of age by chewing it. All these anti-filariasis medicines should not be taken on an empty stomach and it is necessary to chew and consume the Albendazole tablet. Apart from being anthelmintic, Albendazole tablet is very important for improving the health and nutrition level of children, prevention of anemia, intellectual and physical development.
The activities to be carried out under the campaign will be implemented as follows.
Date
MDA Activity
Place
27/02/2025 to 02/03/2025
(four days)
Medicine consumption by setting up booths
Medicine consumption in Anganwadi centers, schools and educational institutions
03/03/2025 to 10/03/2025
(eight days)
Door-to-door visit
Medicine consumption by visiting door-to-door at community level
11/03/2025 to 13/03/2025
(three days)
Mop-up round
Medicine consumption for the missed population
27/02/2025 to 13/03/2025
(fifteen days)
MDA Corner
Medicine consumption by setting up booths near OPD in Medical College, District Hospital, Community Health Center, Primary Health Center and other private hospitals
State Program Officer, N.V.B.D.C.P. said that people who already have filaria parasites in their body Those who are infected with the virus may sometimes experience some reactions after taking the medicine, such as mild headache, nausea, fatigue, itching, rashes or slight discomfort in the body. This is not a side effect, but a good sign that the medicine is effectively destroying the parasite. These symptoms are usually transient and disappear automatically after some time or after taking an anti-allergic pill.
Apart from this, 78 Rapid Response Teams have been deployed by the Health Department in all 61 development blocks to deal with any adverse situations and the Community Health Officer (CHO) posted at the nearest Ayushman Arogya Mandir has been trained for this. He informed that all preparations have been completed in the districts for the successful implementation of the campaign. Appropriate anti-filariasis medicines are available for the targeted beneficiaries as per the microplan in the districts. Training of health workers and drug administrators has also been done in the districts, in which instructions have been given to make people aware of serious diseases like filariasis at every level so that during the mass drug consumption campaign, people must consume medicines to protect them from these diseases in front of the drug administrators. To make the drug consumption activity reach the masses, members of the cluster level federation have also been included for the first time in all the development blocks and cooperation has also been taken from other departments.
Filariasis disease spreads due to the bite of infected Culex mosquito, which is one of the major causes of long-term disability worldwide. This infection, which occurs in any age group, damages the lymphatic system and if it is not prevented, it causes abnormal swelling in the body parts. People suffering from chronic conditions caused by filariasis such as hydrocele (swelling in the scrotum), lymphedema (swelling of the limbs) and chyluria (milky white urine) often suffer social exclusion, affecting their livelihoods and ability to work.