Final dose of filaria pills to be distributed in February – Health Minister

…as efforts intensify to eliminate filaria in Guyana

Without removing focus from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Healthy Ministry is also working on eliminating filaria in Guyana, with the last dosage of pills ready for countrywide distribution in February 2021.

This was revealed by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday. He added that it is recommended by the World Health Organisation to roll out a mass administration of medicines in countries seeking to eliminate filariasis completely. Guyana would have completed the first round over one year ago, and now the last round will be administered to citizens.
He positioned that once the campaign starts in February, it should finish later that month.
“To be sure that you’re getting rid of these filaria larvae, the best way is to start one year and you have a certain per cent of the population taking this medicine. Then, you wait for about a year and do a second round. We have completed that first round and we are going to do the second round. We are going to start the process in early February and by the end of February 2021, we would have completed the entire country,” the Minister announced.
It was highlighted that training has already commenced for persons who will be administering the medications. Teams will be sent to various communities across Guyana, visiting each household.
“We have already started to train people to do this. We have the medication in the country and we are ready to go. Once February next year comes around, we have teams that would be deployed around the country to ensure that they move around house to house, giving people the final dose.”
After the programme is completed, the WHO will be tasked with evaluating the country, officially certifying whether the country is free of filaria. Dr Anthony is calling for cooperation among all stakeholders in successfully completing the national exercise.
He shared, “For the first time, we’ll be able to eliminate filaria in Guyana. For us to do that, it takes a lot of work. We need people to assist us by taking the medication and once we finish this exercise, we will have an evaluation by the WHO and other partners and they would certify whether or not we’re filaria-free.”
Last September, a Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination Campaign was launched and spearheaded by the Mass Drug Administration (MDA). The programme sought to target areas where the population is vulnerable to the disease. Guyanese were given three tablets; Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and Albendazole. The combination of pills is referred to as the IDA.
The number of tablets varies per age, and they are not to be given to pregnant women and children below the age of two years old. It is said that a person requires five annual doses of the pills before they become immune to the mosquito-borne disease.
According to information from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease is caused by three species of thread-like nematode worms, known as filariae – Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. Male worms range from three to four centimetres in length, and female worms eight to 10 centimetres.
The worms target the lymphatic system, which is an essential component of the body’s immune system as it is essentially a network of nodes and vessels that maintain the delicate fluid balance between blood and body tissues. But when someone is infected, the male and female worms form “nests” in this vital system. (G12)