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The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss had said that all efforts will be made to eliminate Kala-azar by 2010 and Filariasis by 2015. He was speaking on the occasion of the launch of an Anti-Malaria Month Campaign and release of a Logo for the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme here today. Dr. Ramadoss emphasized on the prevention and creation of public awareness about cleanliness and hygiene for quick elimination of vector borne diseases. He said, simple measures like fogging and spraying of insecticides which was done routinely by the municipalities in the earlier years have now been forgotten. While medical improvements like development of rapid malarial diagnostic kits and Mass Drug Administration for Filariasis have helped in curing the disease, there is a need to increase awareness so that people do not contact the disease in the first place. He said, it was a shame that India was among the only three countries with Nepal and Bangladesh to be still inflicted by Kala-azar. Dr. Ramadoss said that the Government in coordination with WHO was thinking of taking up simultaneously spraying of insecticides in these three countries to prevent cross border transmission.
Speaking on the occasion, the Health Secretary, Shri P.K. Hota said that the community was not responding and the need of the hour was to find out the reason for low community participation. He said, although new techniques like impregnated mosquito bed nets were available, these were not in the market in a systematic manner. He also stressed the need for inter-sectoral coordination to address the challenges of the practical aspects of the programme.
EK/MK.
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