Filariasi war targets Kavieng

By FRANKIY KAPIN
THE Kavieng district health services will once again see the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis begin next month.
Under the revised implementation planning guide (2010) regulated by the Department of Health, the MDA will have to be implemented by 2012 as it is an annual event spread over eight years beginning in 2005.
District health manager Paterson Marengas said the district health services were now preparing towards the roll-out of the MDA to eradicate the spread and treat disabilities resulting from the disease.
Marengas said the district health services would begin with advocacy and training of health officers followed by the administering of drugs, starting in Kavieng district.
He said the two main drugs to be used are Albendazole and Diethylcarbamazine – DEC to be given to the population at risk.
He said the drugs serve two purposes and that was to destroy the filarial worms and hookworms in a person’s body.
Marengas is appealing to the people to cooperate with health officers as this was a one-off process and should not take more than a day.
“This is a one-time treatment that will include the community,” he said.
“I am calling all leaders within every community in the Kavieng district to be responsible for each person in your area to be treated.”
For the MDA to be effective, more than 80% of the population had to be covered in the desired area and that would need health officers and the community working together, Marengas said.
He said children under two years, pregnant women and the very sick should not be administered the medication and consideration should be given to the side effects of the drugs.
Proper meals and an adequate amount of food had to be eaten before taking the medication to relegate adverse reactions by the patient.
Marengas said this was phase one of the process and it would surely lead into phase two, which would include a thorough analysis of phase 1.
He said if required, phase 2 was basically a mop up of areas not covered pertaining to the required 80% coverage initially projected in phase 1.
Marengas said health officers taking part should – at the end of the campaign – be able to identify poorly performing areas and the need for any mop-up task.
He said an improved performance in the second phase and within the five years of implementation upon analysis of the first year campaign was required.
He said health officers must be able to provide detailed reports outlining the number of drugs – (DEC/Albendazole), availability of materials, anti-genanemia and micro filariasis status, acquittals, full population coverage/treated and the percentage coverage.
Provincial health sector improvement programme officer Charlie Melachon said that funding of K78,600 for the campaign had been released by WHO since June last year.