1Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College, Venjaramoodu, Kerala, India
2Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sree Gokulam Medical College, Venjaramoodu, Kerala, India
Lymphatic Filariasis is responsible for considerable suffering, deformity and disability, although it is not a fatal disease. The current estimate reveals that 120 million people in the world are infected with lymphatic filarial parasites, which includes 40 million people with overt disease like lymphoedema and scrotal hydrocele. The National Health Policy (2002) has envisaged elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis in India by 2015. Mass drug administration for elimination of Filariasis has been implemented in India since 2004. The objectives of the study were to assess the coverage and compliance of mass drug administration in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala for 2014 round, to find out the reasons for non-consumption of the drugs & to find out the side effects experienced among those who consumed the drugs.
A community based cross sectional study was conducted through house to house survey. Data regarding 864 individuals from 243 households were collected from the selected clusters.
87.8% (95% CI: 85.5–89.9%) of the population received the antifilarial drugs. The proportion of population who consumed the drugs was 68.8% (95%CI: 65.6–72.0%). The most common reason for non-consumption was not receiving the drug followed by fear of side effects, and thought of “no Filariasis”. Side effects reported in only 6.7% among those consumed. The most common side effect was dizziness or sedation (3.9%). No significant difference was observed in the consumption pattern among the residents in rural and urban areas (p = 0.10), gender (p=0.41).
Mass drug administration, coverage, Elimination, Lymphatic Filariasis, Kerala
