Bhopal:Monday, September 1, 2008:On the National Filaria Day on November 11 about one crore filarial patients would be made to consume four crore fifty lakh DEC tablets in the state. It was informed at a meeting of the State Task Force constituted in connection with observance of National Filaria Day here on Saturday. It was clarified at the meeting that children below two years of age, expectant mothers and persons afflicted by serious diseases should not consume this tablet. The Chief Secretary Shri Rakesh Sahni presided over the meeting.
It may be mentioned here that an action plan has been formulated for effective implementation of the National Filaria Programme. Eleven districts of the state are affected by this disease. These include Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh,Satna, Panna, Datia, Katni, Damoh, Chhindwara, Rewa, Umaria and Sagar.
The meeting was informed that one crore 52 lakh 11 thousand population in these districts is affected by this diseases. This medicine was administered to one crore 36 lakh 48 thousand people in year 2007. The number of cases of filarial is 2941 in these 11 districts. Under the action plan training would be imparted for cleansing of the affected limbs of the patients and general hygiene. As many as 803 hydrosol operations have been performed in the state.
It was further informed that arrangements for 12347 supervisors and 61,733 medicine distributors are being made for distribution of DEC tablets among the patients on National Filaraia Day. After distribution of the medicine at different centres the workers would go from door to door administering the dose to the patients. The DEC tablets would be administered at the ashram schools and schools of tribal welfare department in the 11 affected villages.
Principal Secretary, Health Shri Devraj Virdi, Principal Secretary, Tribal Welfare Shri O.P. Rawat, Principal Secretary, Medical Education Shri M.M. Upadhyaya and Secretary Shri Anil Shrivastava also attended the meeting.