The Department of Health is raising the awareness of Negrenses about lymphatic filariasis with four areas in Western Visayas considered endemic for the disease, Ana Marie Luz Hibionada, DOH Regional Filariasis Program coordinator, said yesterday

She said these areas are Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Antique.

FilarIasis is a parasitic disease caused by thread-like roundworms and is transmitted from host to host by blood-feeding mosquitoes. It can cause irreversible deformities in humans.

Hibionada said November is considered Filariasis Awareness Month and it is a mass treatment month for endemic areas for filariasis.

She said they plan to conduct again a deformity survey in Negros Occidental next month to see if the province is also endemic for lymphatic filariasis.

They also want the people to report filariasis cases to the regional health units so it will be relayed to the DOH, she said. They will then visit such areas and conduct nocturnal blood survey on infected persons, she added.

Hibionada said most cases of filariasis are asymptomatic but later, when it reaches an acute stage, the person will experience recurring fever, and there will be swelling of the victim's arms, legs, or scrotum in men.

During the chronic stage, the person will experience disfigurement like enlargement of the feet, arms, scrotum or breasts in women, she said. The deformity is irreversible, she added.

Hibionada said the usual breeding places of these night-biting mosquitoes are the leaves of banana, abaca, pandan or gabi plants which hold water.

If they find someone infected by the disease, they de-worm the person for 12 consecutive days, she said. But they will conduct a survey to determine if an area is endemic so it can be considered and recommend for mass treatment, she added.

Since they have received reports of deformities, they will again conduct a deformity survey in Negros, Hibionada added.

Meanwhile, Alicia Matti, Negros Occidental breastfeeding coordinator, said the DOH hopes to reduce infant mortality and maternal death by at least two-thirds by 2015.

They are recommending breast feeding a child from birth until six months in order to reduce infant mortality, since many newborn die in the first two days after they are born, she said.

Matti said all the nutrients needed by a child from birth until six months can be found in breast milk, which provides natural immunity from diseases.

After six months, the mother should provide complimentary feeding but should continue breast feeding the child up to two years or beyond, she said.*CGS

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