A total of 10,97,238 children in the age group of 1 to 19 years will be dewormed on Wednesday, the National Deworming Day, in Vellore district.
According to K.S.T. Suresh, deputy director of health services, Vellore Health Unit Division, anganwadi workers, village health nurses and nodal teachers of the school education department have been trained and would distribute the deworming tablets to the target age group on Wednesday.
As many as 3,000 anganwadi centres, 5,281 government and aided schools and 538 private schools would be covered during this exercise in the district, he said.
“Children, who are missed on Wednesday, will be covered on August 17. We will be distributing chewable tablets. There will be supervised administration of the tablets by the staff,” he said.
This mass exercise would take care of worm infestation in children, he said, adding, “Worm infestation symptoms include nutrition deficiency, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, anaemia, nausea and vomiting, stomach pain, loose stools and vitamin A deficiency. Consuming the tablet will be beneficial.”
Dr. Suresh added that Albendazole is available in suspension form with general practitioners and paediatricians.
“Parents can also get the syrup from the doctors. For one-to two-year-old children, 5 ml dose should be given, while 10 ml should be given for children above two years up to five years,” he added.
Doctors advise that deworming should be done once in six months. E. Theranirajan, head of Paediatrics, Government Vellore Medical College Hospital said the worm infestation is transmitted through the faecal oral route.
Barefoot walking
“This transmission occurs when children walk barefoot on sand, and there are chances of contamination of hands too. When the transmission happens, the worms form and suck blood from the intestine. This leads to anaemia in children,” he said.
Consuming the tablet will help in paralysing the worms, he added. “When parents come with complaints of loss of appetite in children, poor eating and fatigue, the first thing that many practitioners think of is deworming. This will promote the sense of well being, reduce anaemia and help in nutritional improvement in malnourished children,” he explained.
