The Ministry of Public Health, along with the Pan American Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO), will be adding a new drug to its Lymphatic Filariasis campaign and extending the campaign’s reach, with the hopes of eliminating the disease by next year.
The campaign will now see the mass administration of Ivermectin, Diethylcar-bamazine and Albendazole, in all 10 administrative regions, beginning this year.
A release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) noted that Mass Drug Administration (MDA), “is a WHO-recommended preventative chemotherapy strategy” to stop the transmission of a Lymphatic Filariasis infection. It involves administering preventative chemotherapy to all eligible persons in endemic areas to reduce the parasites in the blood and the prevalence of the infection in the communities to levels low enough that transmission cannot be sustained. “When the level of infection has been reduced below target thresholds MDA is considered no longer required,” it stated.
