Angola accelerates initiatives to eradicate Dracunculosis
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Loading... - Martin Philippe
- 18 Aug 2022
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A team of specialists from the National Directorate of Public Health, WHO and The Carter Center, carried out a mission from July 4th to 9th of this year to Cunene province to support interventions to intensify community surveillance, control of vectors and dranculosis infection in animals.
“We are working to strengthen the community system and ensure the adoption of crucial measures to contain and reduce dracunculiasis transmission,” said Dr. Nzuzi Katondi, WHO NTD officer in Angola.
Dr. Katondi is one of the members of the mission to the province of Cunene in support of national efforts to combat Negligible Tropical Diseases (NTDs). For 6 days, they visited villages with confirmed cases of dracunculiasis infections in animals, and worked with local populations to intensify surveillance and guide how to contain the infections.
“It was an opportunity to investigate the rumours, assess the human and animal cases infected in the region, and promote measures to prevent contamination of water sources,” said Dr. Katondi. Emphasizing that, “only in this way, we will prevent infections and accelerate the eradication of dranculosis.”
To accelerate the eradication of Dracunculosis, Angola is developing a series of initiatives that include the mapping of endemic villages, establishment of a surveillance system, detection and immediate notification based on communities, information and education of the populations, as well as the distribution of filters. for vector control in water sources with potential risk of contamination. Read More...
