In endemic districts around the nation, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has started a mass drug administration (MDA) campaign against lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) and onchocerciasis (river blindness).
As a component of national efforts to eradicate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a hazard to public health by 2030, the exercise started on Monday and runs through July 26.
Three districts in three regions where elephantiasis is common will be addressed under the MDA, covering 440,000 people in the exercise. At the same time, 77 districts across the 16 endemic regions for onchocerciasis are being targeted, with the goal of reaching at least 5.8 million people with prescribed meds.
During a press conference, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director General, said that everyone over the age of five, with the exception of pregnant women, was qualified to get the medication.
He said that GHS agents would visit homes to deliver medication to specific persons and urged the residents to take advantage of the MDA.
Dr, Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
According to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, river blindness is common in 31 sub-Saharan African nations, including Ghana, which is why MDA was started in 1997.
According to him, the primary method for managing and getting rid of river blindness involved stopping the cause of transmission by utilizing ivermectin medications during the yearly MDA.
“Even though onchocerciasis control has advanced significantly, there is still a huge task ahead to achieve the global target of elimination by 2030,” he stated.
Elephantiasis, which frequently affects children and causes underlying lymphatic system damage, is caused by filarial parasites that are spread to humans by infected mosquitoes, according to Dr. Franklin Aseidu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health.
He stated that although the infection’s transmission has stopped in 109 areas, elephantiasis remained endemic in 116 districts nationwide.
“Lymphoedema, elephantiasis, and scrotal swelling are the painful and deeply disfiguring outward signs of the disease that develop later in life. These patients suffer from emotional, social, and financial losses in addition to physical disability, which contributes to stigma and poverty.” He added.
Human onchocerciasis is a skin and ocular illness that is transmitted by repeated bites by an infected blackfly known scientifically as Simulium. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Onchocerca volvulus.
Because the blackfly that spreads the infection grows in swiftly moving rivers and streams and causes blindness, onchocerciasis is also known as river blindness. This makes people who live near these bodies of water more susceptible to the illness.
Heavy infection sufferers typically have chronic itching, unattractive skin diseases, subcutaneous nodules, or eye diseases that cause blindness or severe visual impairment.
Source: The Ghanaian Times
