More than 6,000 filaria patients in Deoghar, reveals official data

Official figures released by the health department showed that Deoghar has 6,615 filariasis patients. Although the number of patients has been decreasing in the last two years, the situation is still highly alarming.

Notably, West Singhbhum has the second-highest number of filariasis patients (5421) followed by Seraikela Kharsawan (5066), Dhanbad (4302) and Dumka (4270). While the health department takes it extremely seriously and there is a national program for mass drug distribution, the situation in Deoghar is different.

Dr. Ganesh, the district program manager, admitted that he faces a reluctance from people in Deoghar as some communities are not ready to take drugs. He says many people are not ready to take medicine from health professionals, but it is not possible and practical for doctors to go to every door. Because of ignorance, the program is not keeping up and faces another challenge, he says.

However, he admits that some people experience headaches and nausea after taking the drugs, but this is a good sign because it confirms that the drug is working for the patient. Remarkably, if the drugs are taken at regular intervals for the next 5 to 7 years, the parasites are flushed out of the body.

Dr. Ganesh admits, "If we don't break the chain to eradicate the disease, it's a big challenge." In fact, Quelex mosquitoes are responsible for Filaria and these mosquitoes readily germinate in stagnant water. The disease is transmitted from one to another through mosquitoes. The disease is also transmitted to newborns or children through mosquitoes, but it takes several years to manifest itself.

Not only India is affected by filariasis, but 83 countries of the world.