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A special task force has been formed in Kulhudhuffushi City to deal with the cases of filariasis in the island.
Kulhudhuffushi reported its first filariasis cases during a foreigners screening program held from December 1 to 2 to coincide with World AIDS Day. During the programme, 17 foreigners were found to be infected. Therefore, more than 200 foreigners have been screened upto date and two more positive cases were reported yesterday.
The Task Force has been formed with Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital (KRH), Kulhudhuffushi City Council and other relevant authorities. Health Protection Agency (HPA) stated that those positive expatriates have arrived to Maldives from Filariasis ‘endemic’ countries. And they are working with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO) to control the spread of the virus.
Moreover, HPA state that as part of the work of task force, 295 foreign workers living in Kulhudhuffushi have been screened till yesterday. More foreigners are also being screened and medicines are being administered to 19 infected patients.
Furthermore, testing kits for the disease have been dispatched to Kulhudhuffushi to assist with the task force’s work, and efforts are underway to procure more kits through the WHO.
Along with these efforts, mosquito control programs and filariasis awareness programs are planned in Kulhudhuffushi City. Some of these programs have already been conducted and random sampling and testing will be conducted among those selected from Kulhudhuffushi to determine if there is an outbreak.
It has also been decided to do more, such as providing information to expatriates in their own language, developing guidelines on filariasis, enhancing surveillance and reporting, and conducting filariasis screening in other parts of the country.
Filariasis was declared eradicated in the Maldives in 2016 by the WHO.
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