Mangalore City South MLA J.R. Lobo on Monday said that filariasis had resurfaced and demanded urgent measures to contain it, even as health officials maintained that there was nothing alarming as far as this disease is concerned.
Speaking at the meeting to review city’s preparedness to join the National Urban Health Mission here, Mr. Lobo said a case was reported in Kunjathbail.
He said the departments of health, revenue and officials of the Corporation should evolve a common strategy to quickly to check the spread of the disease.
When contacted, District Health Officer H.S. Shivakumar, however, maintained that this had not come to his notice but said he would verify it. However, detection of one case could not be construed as the disease having resurfaced in the city. The authorities had discontinued distribution of anti-filaria tablets as its incidence had come far below the benchmark standards to consider as being prevalent in an area.
District Vector Borne Diseases Control Officer Arun Kumar S.B. told The Hindu that if a case of elephantiasis is reported now, it meant that he carried the infection about five years ago. Micro filariasis would take years to develop into elephantiasis. A survey of 18 sites in November and December, last year had shown that the micro-filariasis infection was found in less than one per cent of the samples which indicated that it was under control. In each site, blood samples were collected from 500 people, he said.
He said he would verify whether the person said to have been affected in Kunjathbail has already been surveyed and listed by the officials as someone carrying the infection or not.
