NAGPUR: As part of the national programme for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) by 2020, the Maharashtra government is launching the ‘Triple Drug Therapy-IDA’ on Sunday from Nagpur. The district is one of five across the country for launch of first phase of elimination of the disease.The programme aims to reach 48 lakh people with the Mass Drug Administration (MDA), in which the three drugs will be administered to the target population in front of the health worker. The project will be completed between 5 to 15 days to ensure maximum population coverage. It is claimed that if even 85% of the people consume the three drugs LF can be eradicated.Speaking at the prelaunch of the three-drug therapy IDA-MDA project, public health minister Eknath Shinde sought public and media support for the project’s success. He said 13,500 health workers will be involved in the project to go door-to-door to ensure everyone eats all three medicines in front of them.The minister said that 65 crore people are at risk of contracting the disease. The disease has been reported in 250 districts in 21 states of the country. Nagpur city alone had 4,758 cases of lymphoedema (swelling in legs) and 2,877 cases of hydrocele in 2017. The disease is endemic in 16 states including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.Earlier, when the programme was launched in 2004 it used two drugs — DEC or Di-ethylcarbamazine Citrate and Albendazole. But now WHO has added one more drug — Ivermectin — and hence the therapy is being called as IDA. It has increased the total budget by three times. However, this time the project is being first tried in five districts, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Arwal in Bihar, Simdega in Jharkhand, and Yadgir in Karnataka.LF is caused by the worms Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and Brugia timori. These worms occupy the lymphatic system, including the lymph nodes, and in chronic cases these worms lead to the syndrome of elephantiasis — swollen feet and leg. The disease also causes swelling of scrotal sac or hydrocele. The disease is spread from one person to other through culex mosquito.The biggest hurdles for its elimination are lack awareness among masses about disease itself. People refuse to take medicines saying they don’t have the disease. They don’t realize that the incubation period between infection and symptoms can be as long as 5-7 years.The entire project at national level is being supported by three major agencies, Global Health Strategies (GHS), Project Concern International (PCI), and WHO.Additional commissioner Nagpur Municipal Corporation Shriram Joshi, joint director public health department (vector borne disease) Dr Prakash Bhoi, assistant director (vector borne disease) Dr Milind Ganvir, deputy director health services Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, assistant director filaria (PHD) Dr Jitendra Dolare, Amandeep Singh from GHS, Rajashree from PCI and Rashmi Shukla from WHO were also present on the occasion.

Stay updated with all the Latest Nagpur headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.