Even as the district continued its concerted campaign for Measles-Rubella vaccination, the coastal area of Ponnani witnessed yet another unique disease prevention drive on Friday.
A five-day mass drug administration (MDA) programme began at Ponnani as part of combating filariasis. Ponnani and Palakkad continue to be the filaria hotspots in the State.
Although Palakkad district is considered as a unit as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, Ponnani has got special consideration from the WHO to be taken as a unit.
As many as 148 health staff, including 63 Anganwadi and Asha workers, were pressed into the MDA programme being implemented in 29 wards of Ponnani municipality. “We expect to cover at least 85%,” said B.S. Anil Kumar, District Malaria Officer.
Random survey
A random survey conducted last year to determine whether to end the filaria MDA programme in the district had found a few fresh microfilaria carriers in Puthuponnani area. Had the number of microfilaria carriers been less than one in thousand, the MDA programme begun as part of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Global Limphatic Filariasis Elimination Programme could have been stopped. The fresh incidence of filaria cases in Ponnani had defeated the attempts to withdraw the MDA programme from Malappuram. However, the authorities got special sanction from the WHO to focus on Ponnani and neighbouring coastal areas.
The MDA programme carried out in 16 States, including Kerala, and five Union Territories had evoked criticism as Diethylcarbamazine Citrate (DEC) and Albendazole tablets were given to all irrespective of them being microfilaria carriers or not. Everyone had to be given the tablets because districts were stipulated as an evaluation unit of the WHO. The programme was launched in all districts except Idukki, Wayanad and Pathanamthitta. All districts except Palakkad succeeded in the fight against filaria in recent years.
Ponnani Municipal Chairman C.P. Mohammed Kunhi inaugurated the programme by swallowing the tablets.
