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Dimapur, Oct. 28 (EMN): Dimapur district has begun the second round of National Deworming Day in all health units, villages and anganwadi centres (AWC). The National Deworming Day is being observed throughout the month of October 2020 in the district.
Quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Rebecca, DPO, RCH/UIP, stated that 241 million children between the age of one and 14 years are at risk of parasitic intestinal worms in India also known as Soil-Transmitted Helminthes (STH). She stated that STH infections could lead to anaemia, malnutrition, impaired mental and physical and cognitive development and also reduced school participation.
According to her, adult worms live in human intestines for food and survival and produce thousands of eggs each day, which are passed in the faeces of infected person.
She added that infected people, who defecate outdoors, spread worm eggs in the soil. Eventually, the eggs contaminate the soil and spread infection in several ways such as ingestion through vegetables that are not carefully cooked, washed or peeled and contaminated water sources.
She further informed that STH infections could be prevented by using sanitary toilets, not defecating outside, hand-washing particularly before eating and after using toilets, wearing slippers and shoes, washing fruits and vegetables in safe and clean water, and eating properly cooked food.
The National Deworming Day is observed to deworm all pre-school and school-age children (enrolled and un-enrolled) between the ages of 1-19 years through the platform of schools and Anganwadi centres in order to improve their overall health, nutritional status, access to education and quality of life.
However, as all schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, health workers in Dimapur district are providing albendazole tablets to children at the health units, while the Ashas and AWWs are distributing the tablet at the AWCs as well as undertaking door-to-door visit to provide the tablet to the children at the village level. In some villages, albendazole tablets are also distributed to Sunday school children.