Odisha Writes To Centre To Declare 9 Districts Filaria-Free

Bhubaneswar: As many as 9 districts of the total 30 districts in Odisha will be declared free of filariasis.

The Health department, in a notification on Thursday, said it has sent a proposal to the Central government to declare the 9 districts filaria-free as the disease has been totally eradicated in those places, The districts are Puri, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Kendrapada, Gajapati, Boudh, Jagatsinghpur and Deogarh.

The department also stated that it will launch a drive for eradication of filariasis in the rest 21 districts soon. In the first phase, 10 districts would be taken up and the rest would be covered in the second phase.

During the drive, Diethylcarbamazine and Albendazole tablets would be distributed among the people free of cost. Besides, Ivermectin tablets would also be provided to the people in other districts.

The Health officials would distribute the tablets in each village so that the entire state can be made free of filariasis, the notification said.