Mass awareness, preventive measures, necessary drugs, development of hygienic environment and mosquito elimination can help cut the harmful filarial disease.
This was revealed at a discussion organised at the training room of Urban Primary Healthcare Project of Rajshahi City Corporation on Tuesday in observance of National Filariasis Day.
Rajshahi Niskrity, a primary healthcare organisation, in collaboration with LEPRA Bangladesh arranged the discussion.
Chaired by chief health officer Dr Rizvi Sultan, the meeting was addressed, among others, by mayor in-charge of the RCC Rezaunnabi Dudu, executive director of Rajshahi Niskrity SKL Muhammad Lalon, senior health education officer Nazrul Islam and Dr Anzuman Ara.
Speakers said filaria or elephantiasis is not only the public nuisance in the country but also a social and economical burden. The disease is not curse or heritable rather only the mosquito biting is its cause. Four female species of mosquitoes — anopheles, culex, aedes and manosonia — act as vector of the disease. They noted that the habitats and breeding places of the mosquitoes must be destroyed.
The disease has so far spread in 32 districts but seven of them — Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Lalmonirhat — have been identified as the worst affected. Some 474 patients suffering from filaria have so far been detected in Rajshahi.
Mass drug administration activities have been started in the district including the metropolis aimed at making it free from the infection of filaria. The speakers said the government has formulated a national plan styled ‘filaria elimination programme’ and has been working to make the country free from it by 2015 according to the guideline of World Health Organisation.
Source: The Commercial Times
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