Mysuru:  District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. P.C. Kumaraswamy said, it is essential to control the worms in the body to eradicate malnutrition and anaemia among children.

He was speaking after kick-starting National Deworming Campaign organised at Maharaja’s High School, JLB Road in the city, by District Health and Family Welfare Society and District Health and Family Welfare Department, Zilla Panchayat, here recently.

Of late, there is a rise in number of anaemia cases and to eradicate the same, National Worms Eradication campaign has been launched. Everyone should strive to make this campaign successful, which may come in handy in controlling anaemia by 70 percent, said the DHO.

Every student, from Anganwadi to Degree Colleges, including Schools and PU Colleges, should    Albendazole tablets being distributed by the Health Department to fight the worms.

The tablets are being distributed to only those students in the age group of 1 to 19 years. A target has been set to distribute tablets to 7,01,228 children in the district this year and over 20 RBSK teams and over 4,000 health staff have been involved in the drive. The students who avail the tablets in the first phase will be covered in the second phase, starting from Dec. 16, he said.

The DHO allayed fears of any side effects upon consumption of the tablet. The drugs certified after research are being supplied and the children can take them without any worries, once in six months. It will address issues related to stomach ache, uneasiness and other ailments.

100-day TB awareness

That apart, 100-day Tuberculosis (TB) Awareness programme is being conducted in the district. The kids should undergo health check up, at least once, to get treatment on time, in case any symptoms of the disease is found in them.

Besides, action has been taken to test the quality of water being supplied at schools, added                      the DHO.

Ananthraju, EO at DDPI’s office in the city, explained about the way the Education Department is being benefitted with the initiatives of Health Department.

DDPU Mariswamy, District RCH Officer Dr. Shiraz Ahmed, Programme Officer Gopinath, Maharaja’s PU College Principal N. Uday Shankar, Vice-Principal Dr. Mahesh, Health Department officers, ASHA workers and students were present.