Filariasis mass drug administration set
The Iloilo Provincial Health Office is preparing for the third year implementation of its filariasis mass drug administration.
Dr. Ma. Socorro Quinon, IPHO assistant chief, said the mass drug administration will be conducted next month as they aim for high public participation this year.
The five-year filariasis mass drug administration was first implemented in 2008 after positive cases were found in some municipalities of Iloilo.
There was a low turnout in the past two years thus, the IPHO is appealing to the public to support the campaign so that Iloilo province could be declared filariasis-free.
During the drug administration, one is given albendazole and diethyl carbamizine to take on a full stomach.
Quinon said that during a recent nocturnal blood examination in Brgy. Panuran, Janiuay, they found four patients with hydrocele, or an accumulation of fluid in a sac-like cavity or duct of the body.
In Concepcion town, of the 500 blood samples taken, 14 were found to be positive of microfilaria.
The result in Concepcion is somehow alarming because two years ago, there were only three persons found to be positive of the disease, according to the IPHO.*
