Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 16, 2017 News
A two week Filaria Eradication Campaign is underway in Region Ten.
Over the past few weeks, officials from the Ministry of Health have been visiting homes and workplaces to dispense tablets to eliminate the parasitic worms that cause filaria.
The campaign is being undertaken by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.
National PAHO consultant, Michael Etwaru during a radio interview in Linden, said that in order for citizens to be Filaria free, the pills, diethylcarbamazine Citrate (DEC) and Albendazole (ALB) must be taken once every year for five consecutive years for them to be effective in the fight against the disease.
“The campaign is also being carried out in other Regions in the country,” Etwaru said.
In Guyana, filaria is commonly known as ‘Big Foot’ or ‘Elephantiasis’, and can affect both men and women. When a male is infected in his genital area, it is called Hydrocele or ‘goady’.
Everyone is at risk of filaria, which is a parasitic disease transmitted to humans via the infected Aedes, Culex, Anopheles and Mansonia mosquitoes.
Some chronic signs of Filaria are Lymphoedema—pain and swelling of the breasts, arms, legs and scrotum and Elephantiasis—thickened skin due to excessive swelling.
Filaria can be treated through management of Lymphoedema, to prevent worsening conditions and treatment to destroy the worms.
When bitten by an infected mosquito, tiny worms deposited by the mosquito, enter the body through the skin. The worms go into lymphatic vessels where they mature.
Two things happen as a result- adult worms block the vessel and cause swelling. They also produce thousands of young worms.
It may take up to 20 years for filaria symptoms to show, so a victim may not know that the worms are present. During this period, an infected person may even unknowingly transmit the worms to family members.
The present campaign is targeting the entire population to prevent filaria. The pills will also kill intestinal worms.
The campaign to eradicate filaria was launched at the end of September by Dr Karen Cummings, Minister within the Ministry of Public Health.
Dr Cummings posited that the Ministry will continue to engage in awareness initiatives in its fight to have the disease eliminated by 2020.
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