By Ummi Ismaeel, Minna
Niger State is totally free from Guinea worm, one of the dangerous but neglected tropical diseases.
The state Commissioner for Health and Hospital Services, Dr Muhammad Makusidi, disclosed this in Minna, the state capital on Monday.
He said that the last local government with reports of the disease was Paikoro, stressing that the government had been very proactive to prevent its resurgence.
Addressing journalists as part of event marking the 2021 World Neglected Tropical Diseases’ Day at the state Ministry of Health conference room, the commissioner said that Niger was no more on the list of those with traces of the disease.
The eradication was also made possible with the provision of potable water by the Governor Abubakar Sani Bello-led administration across the 25 LGCs, stressing that the government was committed to providing portable water for Nigerlites to combat the other neglected tropical diseases.
Guinea worm is caused by the parasitic worm, dracunculus medinensis, and is the largest of the tissue parasite affecting humans.
The parasite migrates through the victims’ subcutaneous tissues causing severe pain. It eventually emerges from the feet most of the times causing painful oedema, a blister and an ulcer accompanied by fever, nausea and vomiting.
The commissioner however said that there was the endemicity of five neglected tropical diseases spreading across all the 25 local government areas.
According to him, “lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) is prevalent in 19 local government areas, onchocerciasis (river blindness) is prevalent in 21 local government areas while schistosomiasis (soil-transmitted helminths) is prevalent in 25 local government areas and trachoma (eyelid infection) is in two local government areas of the state.
Makunsidi said that activities conducted in the state to reduce the prevalence of the neglected tropical diseases include advocacy, training and retraining of health workers and basic education school teachers.
The state Ministry of Health has however intensified community mobilization and sensitization, mass administration of medicines, monitoring and supervision, data collection and report dissemination to relevant stakeholders.
