New Telegraph

CSOs: 50% of children in FCT infected with intestinal worms

…to embark on free school deworming exercise

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), has disclosed that over 50 percent of children across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were infected with schistosomiasis, a disease caused by parasitic worms also known as intestinal worms.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, the CSO while noting that open defection and poor hygiene practices were factors responsible for the intestinal worm infection, said two of the area councils; Gwagwalada and Kwali, were also endemic to soil transmitted helminths.
The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Technical Specialist, Christian Blind Missionary (CBM) Nigeria country office, Joseph Kumbur, said a free deworming exercise has been scheduled to run from November 16 to December 11, 2020, to prevent and cure children and adults from the disease.
According to him, Schistosomiasis was commonly transmitted through contaminated human waste which spreads through soil or water sources in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene practices.
Kumbur, who raised concerns over the poor awareness, funding and strict instructions from parents to their children and wards not to take the drugs, gave assurances that they were safe and reliable with mild adverse effects of not more than three days, especially when taken on an empty stomach.

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