With assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Public Health on Thursday officially launched its latest mass drug administration campaign to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence led by example at the launch at the Stabroek Market Square, where she took the medication.
The month-long exercise will see health officials visiting homes and schools to administer the drugs, Ivermectin, Albendazole and Diethylcarbamazine citrate.
According to Lawrence, Guyana has made tremendous progress in the fight against filarial but the objective is for the elimination of the disease. “We do not want persons within our communities to suffer this fate. That is why collectively, we have agreed to step up this campaign and to work together assiduously to combat and eliminate this often-neglected disease,” she was quoted as saying.
Lymphatic Filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis and ‘big foot,’ occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitos’ bites. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the sickness as a painful and profoundly disfiguring disease, which threatens persons of all ages in at-risk communities. According to the WHO, “filarial infection can cause a variety of clinical manifestations, including lymphoedema of the limbs, genital disease (hydrocele, chylocele, and swelling of the scrotum and penis) and recurrent acute attacks, which are extremely painful and are accompanied by fever.”
In 2000, over 120 million persons were affected worldwide, with some 40 million disfigured and or disabled by the filariasis.
Guyana is aiming to join Costa Rica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago on the region’s list of non-endemic countries by 2020.
According to the DPI report, Lawrence said the elimination campaign, which is a continuation of work started years ago, is built on the mass drug administration, morbidity management and disability prevention. “Guyana has made tremendous progress in recent years, in the roll-out of the mass drug distribution. We have been able to net a coverage of 85% and our hats are raised to those persons who took the medication to our people, across the length and breadth of Guyana,” she noted.
Except for regions Eight and Nine, the Public Health Ministry is currently working in all the administrative regions. The report said Lawrence reported that a survey carried out found that the two regions are not affected by the disease.
Country representative for the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Dr. William Adu-Krow also spoke at the launch and he said while the prevalence of the disease has fallen significantly, it must be eradicated.
