Date:09/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/09/stories/2007120955310100.htm

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Mass drug administration programme to check incidence of lymphatic filariasis

Staff Reporter

Diethylcarbamazine Citrate tablets to be distributed in Pudukottai

14 lakh persons to be covered in district
Door-to-door survey to be be conducted

PUDUKOTTAI: Mass administration of Diethylcarbamazine Citrate (DEC) tablets to check the incidence of lymphatic filariasis will be revived in the district on December 27. The DEC tablets will be distributed to all except those aged below two and above 60, pregnant women and the sick.

Pudukottai is one of the districts prone to the epidemic and to check its incidence, the mass drug administration (MDA) programme was implemented for seven years from 1998 to 2004.

Apart from DEC tablets, each individual will now be given an additional tablet of ‘Albendazole’ supplied by the World Health Organisation, official sources told The Hindu here on Saturday. The second tablet was not distributed during the previous spell.

According to sources, Pudukottai is one of the 14 districts prone to the epidemic and, hence, it has been selected for the MDA programme. The other districts are Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Perambalur, Kanyakumari and Chennai.

The mop-up programme of distribution of the DEC and Albendazole tablets will continue for two more days till December 29 to cover the left-over population.

About 14 lakh persons will be covered in the district, Collector D. Uthirakkumaran said. As a preliminary step, a door-to-door survey will be conducted in the district for three days from December 17. The survey will also be utilised to sensitise people on preventive measures.

Over 6,300 volunteers of service organisations, health department personnel, anganwadi workers and members of self-help groups will distribute the tablets on December 27.

Deputy Director of Public Health A. Ganesan, who is also member-secretary of the District Co-ordination Committee, which is implementing the programme, said the MDA programme was suspended for two years due to floods and other administrative reasons and was being revived this year.