…as anti-filaria campaign launched in Reg. 6

DIRECTOR of Regional Health Services in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), Dr Vishalya Sharma, is encouraging all residents to take their filaria pills in an effort to make Guyana filaria free. During the launch of the second and final round of the Filaria Mass Drug
Administration (MDA) campaign in the region on Saturday, Dr Sharma sought to drive home the point that “one patient is too much.”
“We all have a role in the elimination of this filaria, and Region Six, as I said clearly, one patient is too much…We all have a role to play to ensure not just you are in the [elimination] process, but your entire family, your entire street and your entire community, because we all have a role to play to ensure no one else is diagnosed in Region Six.”

From Monday, March 1, over 200 pill distributors will be dispatched across the region visiting every house and public space to administer the pills that will help to ensure the infectious disease is eliminated once and for all. Pregnant women, persons who are seriously ill and children under two years, are not eligible to take the pills. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Lymphatic Filariasis (LF), or filaria as it is commonly called, affects the body’s lymphatic system which functions to remove unwanted fluids from the body and transports ‘lymph’- a fluid which contains white blood cells that help to fight infections. It is caused by bancrofti worms and is transmitted by culex mosquitoes. Importantly, if someone is infected with filaria, he/she may develop chronic conditions resulting in swelling of the legs and scrotum. Locally, the swelling of tissues in the leg is called ‘big foot,’ while scrotal swelling is termed ‘goadie.’ There is no cure for filaria, which means that these chronic manifestations are irreversible.

Dr. Sharma explained that the mental, social and emotional trauma associated with Filarisis can make a patient think options are not available. She noted that the disease affects 120 million persons globally. Meanwhile, Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, in delivering the feature address, stated that he is positive Guyana can receive their certification of being Lymphatic Filarisis free based on the effort that has been put in.
“This is a fight that began a long time ago, we have made impressive progress since we started this fight and we are on the cusp of defeating Lymphatic Filarisis in our country. The dream of eliminating Filarisis is now within our grasp; we can do it in not just our lifetime but in a few short years from now,” said Dr Ramsammy, who also served as Guyana’s Minister of Health for many years. He, however, cautioned that despite having a very experienced team in the public health system that has aided in the elimination of many other diseases, the goal cannot be achieved without the support of everyone.

“Health is achieved through a partnership, a partnership with all our people, which is why I am proud this morning to see we have a coalition of forces here. Ultimately, the expertise, the commitment and hard work of the public health workers only succeed in an empowering environment.
“Here we are coming to you with a solution, with a protection, we can end Lymphatic Filarisis, and we can guarantee each citizen in this country that you will not get Lymphatic Filarisis but we can only give that guarantee if we have a partnership to work together,” Dr Ramsammy said.
Guyana did its first round of the MDA in 2019 and managed to achieve a 100% geographical coverage by using a triple drug therapy, Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and Albendazole, popularly referred to as IDA.