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Take medicines to prevent filariasis: CM Yogi
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has urged people to take medication to prevent filariasis and announced a comprehensive campaign across 17 districts to make the state filariasis-free. The campaign will involve 72,000 health workers administering filariasis medicine to over 3.5 crore people. Different combinations of drugs will be used in different districts. The campaign will take place from February 10 to 28. Trained health workers will administer the medicine to all community members in these districts free of cost, but certain groups, such as children under 1 year old, pregnant women, and seriously ill individuals, should not take the medicine.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath urged people to take medication to prevent filariasis and to save future generations from the disease, on Friday.
With the objective to make Uttar Pradesh a filariasis-free state, it will launch a comprehensive campaign across 17 districts, commencing on February 10. Under this, 72,000 health workers will administer filariasis medicine to more than 3.5 crore people of the state.
In Amethi, Azamgarh, Banda, Barabanki, Bareilly, Lucknow, Pratapgarh, Prayagraj, Unnao, and Varanasi, a triple-drug combination (Ivermectin, DEC, and Albendazole) will be administered. In Ballia, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jaunpur, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, and Sonbhadra, a double-drug combination (DEC and Albendazole) will be given, said a press statement from the state government.
A mass drug administration round will be conducted in Amethi, Azamgarh, Ballia, Banda, Barabanki, Bareilly, Hamirpur, Jaunpur, Jalaun, Lucknow, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Sonbhadra, Unnao and Varanasi between February 10 and 28.
“The target population in Lucknow is 54.21 lakh. The medicine will be available at all health establishments and Ayush temples,” said additional chief medical officer (Lucknow) Dr RN Singh.
In all, 4,500 teams have been formed in Lucknow for a door-to-door campaign in the state capital. Also, these teams will be monitored by 500 supervisors, said Yogesh Raghuvanshi, district health education officer of Lucknow.
“In Lucknow the campaign will be started at Civil hospital,” said Dr Manoj Agrawal, chief medical officer of Lucknow.
Trained health workers to give medicines
Dr. Ramesh Singh Thakur, joint director-cum-state program officer, filaria, department of health and family welfare, said that during the mass drug administration campaign, trained health workers will administer anti-filarial medicines to all community members living in these 17 districts without any cost.
Addressing a workshop conducted by the medical and health department in partnership with Global Health Strategies he said that these medicines should not be taken on an empty stomach. He said that children under 1 year of age, pregnant women, and seriously ill individuals should not take these medicines.
