Health Dept to target 5 lakh children this year

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 11

With a target to de-worm approximately 5 lakh children in the district, the Health Department is geared up to observe the National De-worming Day on February 15.

For this, the department has already received the required number of de-worming pills.

The district health department observes the day every year and government schools always give a green signal to the department. But major private schools remain major obstacles, as a majority of these do not allow the Health Department to administer de-worming tablets to students due to which the drive remains half successful. There are nearly 500 private schools in the district of which a majority of these do not allow the department to administer tablets.

Experts suggest that it is necessary to regularly de-worm kids as it can affect their health. Children are more at the risk of getting infected by worms. If left untreated, worms can spread the infection throughout the body. The worms are parasites, which feed off the host’s body and eventually result in malnutrition, affecting the healthy growth of a child. “Intestinal worms also multiply within the body by laying eggs, which cannot be easily removed by medicines. So it is important to get your child de-wormed frequently, at least once every six months,” said a city-based pediatrician.

Civil Surgeon Dr Rajiv Bhalla said all preparations for observing National De-worming Day have been completed. “We will be holding a meeting with the district education officers and consent letters will also be given to private schools so that students can get them signed from parents for giving de-worming tablets,” said Dr Bhalla.

A Principal of a private school said the school authorities were ready to lend a helping hand to the Health Department but they become helpless when parents don’t show interest in giving medicines to their kids. “How can we administer medicine to kids when parents don’t give their consent?” she said.

Sheetal Saini, a parent, said she regularly de-worms her child as advised by the paediatrician. “This can lead to doubling the dose so I avoid getting her de-wormed at the school. When we are giving her de-worming medicine at home, they why will I give consent for de-worming at school?” she asked.

The necessity

A worm infestation can cause pain in  the stomach and vomiting. It can also affect the normal growth and cause malnutrition in children. Hence, doctors recommend getting children de-wormed every six months after she turns one. While de-worming drugs kill adult worms, they do not kill the eggs.

What are de-worming tablets

De-worming (sometimes known as worming or drenching) is giving anthelmintic drug (a wormer, de-wormer, or drench) to a human or animal to rid them of helminths parasites, such as roundworm, flukes and tapeworm.