GHS Alleviates The Fear Of Pupils, Parents Over Nationwide Deworming Exercise

GHS Alleviates The Fear Of Pupils, Parents Over Nationwide Deworming Exercise

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has allayed the fears of the public especially, residents in some parts of the Greater Accra region over side effects children have suffered as a result of a deworming exercise currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Health.

Deputy Chief, Neglected Tropical Diseases at GHS, Mr. Bright Alomatu said the GHS is currently embarking on a national deworming programme.

He explained that every drug has a side effect hence there would be some pupils who may show some signs of effects, but there is no cause for alarm, he added.

He said the exercise is covering over 32,000 schools nationwide.

He told Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that the side effects usually become more the person is highly infested with the worms.

He said the nationwide mass schoolchildren deworming exercise, aimed at reducing the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Ghana, started on Thursday and parents were informed.

”The drugs are safe and approved by the World Health Organization. There is no cause for alarm,” he assured.

The exercise he disclosed will distribute Abendazol to control soil-transmitted Helminthes and Praziquantel to control schistosomiasis is expected to reach all school-going age children from 205 districts of the country involving over 6 million children.

He said “Symptoms of schistosomiasis include blood in urine and stool, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and possible cancer of the bladder.”

He added that globally, the disease is expected to be controlled by 2020 and eliminated by 2025, hence government’s decision to organise the mass drug administration once every year to control the diseases among children especially.

He said the school mass drug administration will be followed with a health education which will highlight the avoidance of contact with infected water and stoppage of open defecation which fosters the transfusion of the worms.

Source: Rashid Obodai Provencal||rainbowradioonline.com