Some 1,401 persons from households in Cove and John to Nooten Zuil, along the East Coast of Demerara have so far taken filaria pills. Nurse Chrisny McKinnon, head of the Victoria Health Centre made the announcement last Saturday.
According to the National Organisation for Rare Disorders “Filariasis is an infectious tropical disease caused by any one of several thread-like parasitic round worms. The two species of worms most often associated with this disease are Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. The larval form of the parasite transmits the disease to humans by the bite of a mosquito.”
The initiative is part of the Ministry of Health’s Mass Drug Administration campaign to eliminate filaria in Regions Three and Four.
The ministry recently launched the Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Campaign (LFEC) to eradicate filaria in these two regions over the next two years.
Nurse McKinnon also pointed out, “We are going around to various communities and homes to provide filaria medication to persons. We have been having high rates of refusals from households. However, we are trying to see how much we can best answer their questions to alleviate any of their fears so that we can eliminate this disease from our communities and country.”
Individuals with doubts about the filaria pills can visit the ministry’s website, Facebook page or the health centres in their communities for information about filaria.
A resident of Victoria Village taking the filaria pills
“Before you go ahead and take the medication, we also have supervisors coming out to speak to those persons who have refused to take the medication to find out a little bit more about why they have refused it and what we can do to alleviate some of the fears they may have,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony underscored that Guyana has been working to eliminate this disease for over two decades. According to him the ministry has successfully eradicated filaria from eight of the deri regions in Guyana.
He emphasised the importance of taking the pills because filaria symptoms may not manifest for 15 to 20 years, although the parasite could be present in the body.
To tackle this issue, the ministry, in partnership with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), has trained 700 pill distributors to assist with the distribution in the communities.
“But that doesn’t mean that you do not have the parasite. It’s living within your body. If you take these pills, it will help to kill those parasites and you will be free from filaria. And that is what the campaign is about. We really want to encourage everyone to take their tablets,” Dr Anthony underscored.