Indian authorities plan mass malaria drug handout

Medical officials in the Indian city of Varanasi will administer doses of an important anti-malaria drug on February 25th as part of the continuing effort to eradicate the disease.

The Times of India reports that a single dose of a medicine which guards against the spread of filarial parasites linked to the disease, after the area missed out of the last rounds of the medicine.

Dr MA Khan, the district malaria officer and programme officer of mass drug administration (MDA) said that the effort would be conducted door-to-door rather than setting up centralised booths.

The medicine to be administered is diethyl carbamaziene, which is effective at only one dose per year for everyone, will be given to everyone living in the district, except children under the age of two and pregnant woman.

"To lessen the load of filaria parasite in human population, a single dose of DEC annually is suggested for seven years," Dr Khan said.