SECOND GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR ELIMINATION OF LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS

The Government of India and WHO will hold the second meeting of Global Alliance for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis. The 2-day meeting aims at reviewing the advances in the treatment method of this disease for controlling transmission and disease management. It will also discuss the aspect of drug quality and supply, social mobilization, national level partnerships, disability alleviation and planning and implementation strategies at the country level. The meeting will be inaugurated by Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. C. P. Thakur. The Ministers from countries like Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, Gabon, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Haiti and Samoa are likely to attend this meeting. Lymphatic Filariasis also known as Elephantiasis, has been the major vector borne public health problem in India. It is a disfiguring infection caused by parasitic adult worms inhabiting the lymphatic system. Recently, dramatic advances in treatment methods for controlling transmission, successful approaches to disease management, and remarkable improvement in techniques for diagnosing the infection, have led an independent international Task Force for Disease Eradication to identify Lymphatic Filariasis as one of the infectious diseases it considered to be "eradicable" or "potentially eradicable".