Second round of National Deworming Day to be launched on August 9
Source: The Sangai Express / (With inputs from India Today)
Imphal, August 08 2018:
The second round of National Deworming Day will be launched Statewide on August 9, said Mission Director, NHM Manipur B Bandana Devi at her office today.
It may be mentioned that the first round of the National Deworming Day was organised in February this year.
The main programme of the deworming day will be organised on August 10 across the State in all the districts.
The programme will cover schools and Anganwadi centres where the children/students (1-19 years) will be administered Albendazole (deworming) tablets.
The tablets and other utilities have been distributed to the respective centres by the State authorities, she said, regarding the readiness of the deworming programme.
Concerned with the children who may be left out in the programme on August 10, a mop-up day will be organised on August 17 to covered the left out children, she said.
State Nodal Officer Dr A Sylvia said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched the National Deworming Day, in 2015 to combat worm infections which have serious health consequences to children.
The National Deworming Day is observed with the objective to deworm children between the ages of (1-19) at schools and anganwadi centres.
Necessity of de-worming programme in India:
According to WHO, India has the highest burden of Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) in the world, with 220 million children aged 1-14 estimated to be at risk of worm infections.
Almost 7 in 10 children between 6 month and 5 years are anaemic, with even higher rates of anaemia in rural areas, the 2006 National Family Health Survey reported.
Deworming tablets and its side effects:
Children at the age of (1-2) are given half a tablet of albendazole (400mg), and above the age of 2 are given 1 full tablet of albendazole (400mg) to chew.
Albendazole is very safe and has very few side effects and it occurs with mild side effects like nausea and diarrhoea and pass quickly.
STHS:
According to WHO, Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) or parasitic worms are among the most common infections worldwide.
It lives in human intestines and consume nutrients meant for the human body.
They produce thousands of eggs each day, which are passed in faeces and spread to others in areas used for public toilet.