A patient washes his leg, which is swollen from lymphedema caused by lymphatic filariasis.— Photo RTI International
Hanoi (VNA) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announcedthat Vietnam has eliminated lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.
According to the WHO, lymphatic filariasis is an infection transmitted tohumans by mosquitoes.
The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease –lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling – occur later in life and canlead to permanent disability.
Patients are not only physically disabled but also suffer mental, social andfinancial losses contributing to stigmatisation and poverty.
WHO said elimination of lymphatic filariasis is possible by stopping the spreadof infection through large-scale treatment (called mass drug administration)delivered in annual doses to all at-risk individuals in endemic areas.
The medicines have a limited effect on adult parasites but effectively reducethe density of microfilariae in the bloodstream and thus prevent the spread ofparasites to mosquitoes.
The WHO also said that in Vietnam, references to the disease go back more thana century. The prevalence of infection gradually declined in many areas throughenvironmental changes, improvements in housing, increased use of bed nets andselective treatment.
Annual mass treatment campaigns between 2002 and 2008 stopped transmission inremaining endemic areas, and surveillance has continued. Last year, the countryestablished a pioneering new training programme to ensure sustained care forpeople with complications from lymphatic filariasis.
Besides Vietnam, Palau, and Wallis and Futuna have eliminated lymphaticfilariasis.
Since the WHO launched the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasisin 2000, a total of 11 countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region havebeen recognised for eliminating lymphatic filariasis as a public healthproblem: Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Niue, the Marshall Islands, Palau, theRepublic of Korea, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Wallis and Futuna. – VNA
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Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
A patient washes his leg, which is swollen from lymphedema caused by lymphatic filariasis.— Photo RTI International 
