Albendazole tablets essential for child’s growth: Expert

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 14

“Giving albendazole tablets (anti-worm medication) to children aged between 2 and 19 is really essential for proper mental and physical growth of a child and it is also important that parents and teachers of the government as well as private schools need to be aware about it,” said Dr Vishal Kataria, Reproductive and Child Health Division, New Delhi.

Dr Kataria was addressing a press conference at the Civil Hospital. He was in the district to review the albendazole campaign-related activities.

Addressing mediapersons, Dr Kataria said: “We have conducted evaluation at various schools and found that the response was good. Our objective is to sensitise parents and teachers at the school level to ensure that children aged between 2 and 19 be administered albendazole tablets as it helps in proper mental and physical growth of children. It also improves their IQ level. Those children, who were not administered these tablets, find it difficult to excel in studies. The response in the district was good but we need to further sensitise people to the importance of Deworming Day and albendazole tablets so that maximum children could be covered under the campaign and they can lead a healthy life.”

Dr Hari Narain Singh, Civil Surgeon, said: “Today was the mop-up day for the campaign and we have managed to administer albendazole tablets to maximum number of children in the district. The tablet is administered under the supervision of experts and need to be chewed (as size is large and often it gets stuck in the throat) by children. Before administering the medicine, one must ensure that a child should not have fever, not on empty stomach, not standing in the sun (shadow is preferred) or should not have any prior illness.”

He said the tablet had no known side-effects and the Health Department would carry out mop-up sessions to ensure no child was left behind.