No filaria cases recorded in 8 regions across Guyana – Health Minister

…says health authorities tackling remaining regions

The Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony during the launch of the mass drug distribution campaign at the Victoria Health Centre on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) last weekend, disclosed that there are no recorded cases of filaria in eight of the 10 Administrative Regions across Guyana.
The minister noted that the elimination of the disease in these regions is a result of the Health Ministry’s hard work over the years, particularly the establishment of the ministry’s mass drug distribution campaign.
“We have been working for more than two years now to try to eliminate this disease from Guyana and we’ve introduced something called mass drug administration and through using there tablets we have been able to eliminate filaria from eight of the ten administrative regions in Guyana,” the minister stated.
Moreover, the minister disclosed that the Health Ministry is working assiduously to eliminate the disease in the remaining 2 regions which are Region 3 (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Region 4 (Demerara- Mahaica).
“What we’ve set about to do is to eliminate it from three and four, so currently we have a number of pill distributors and as you can see, they will be dressed in this purple colour and they are going out to households talking to people trying to persuade them to make sure that they take their pills” the minister asserted.
Meanwhile earlier in July the Health Ministry mobilised 700 pill distributors to administer filaria pills over the next two weeks, targeting Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Four (Demerara-Mahaica), where the risk of Lymphatic filariasis is particularly high.
Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as LF, is a severe disease causing irreversible swelling in the extremities and genitals. Thousands in Guyana are already affected by LF. According to the Health Minister, this campaign is a critical step towards eradicating filaria from Guyana and improving the quality of life for those at risk. The Ministry of Health, Guyana, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) launched the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign in Guyana since 2017.