Successful anti-parasite campaign for children spurs expansion

Swazi health authorities have announced plans to make deworming sessions a regular part of the education ministry's school health programme after successfully ridding young children of ringworm and other parasites in highly affected areas. "We are dispensing Albendazole tablets ... the medicine is effective and safe for use in children from one year," health ministry principal secretary, John Kunene, told parents during a pill-distribution session at Mangwaneni Primary School in the southern highveld. Surveys by the health department and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) found that up to half the children living in the highveld were infected with at least one type of worm, with ringworm being the most common. The moist soil of the country's highveld areas provides a fertile breeding ground for worm parasites. "In the river catchments of Hlatikulu (in the southern Shiselweni Region), the Public Health Unit has established rates among children from 60 [percent] to 85 percent, with multiple worm infections common," Dr. Kunene commented. There were also concerns about the impact of the infestation on the academic performance of students, as the parasite leaches micronutrients from the body and blocks the absorption of Vitamin A. Approximately 40 percent of all Swazi children grow up with lowered immunity due to a lack of Vitamin A. UNICEF is assisting with a programme of Vitamin A distribution to children under five years old. Dr. Kunene said young children were particularly vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies induced by worm infestation, a condition that could exacerbate malnutrition at a time when one-quarter of the population was facing chronic food shortages. One parent told Dr. Kunene, "I give my child the medicines to flush worms from the body, and she is worm-free. Many parents do this using traditional remedies also." The health ministry official congratulated the parents on their diligence against the parasites, but urged them to allow their children to take the newly available deworming tablets as well.