M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, March 10: Palamu DC Shashi Ranjan today inaugurated the national deworming day at Oxford Public School at Shahpur in Palamu today.
The DC was accompanied by civil surgeon Dr Anil Kumar; district epidemiologist Dr Anup Kumar Singh, medical officer in charge of the community health centre Chiyanki C K Bhardwaj, principal of the school A K Singh and others.
The school had made a flawless arrangement for the health measure. Teachers and students were quite enthusiastic about the show.
About a dozen students, both boys and girls, took one deworming tablet and crushed it joyfully with mouth shut as advised by the civil surgeon today on this occasion.
Students were reminded of how consuming salad helps increase worms if the vegetables are not properly washed and kept hygienically.
Medical officer in charge Bhardwaj said that the students should remember Albendazole all through their lives as it is a lifelong friend.
DC Palamu Shashi Ranjan asked the students to spread the message of deworming. He said that about 10 lakh children from age 2-19 in Palamu are to be given deworming and hoped that their parents will help in achieving this target.
The DC reminded that there are instances of malnutrition and stunted growth of the children and infestation of the worms can’t be ruled out.
The civil surgeon said that worming is not an infection but an infestation. He said people get wrong when they start believing worms in the body are infected. Worms live in the gut.
“Our teams will be reaching out to those children who are nowhere enrolled in any school either private or government but wandering around some of them picking rags to keep their parents running the families,” said the CS.
Principal A K Singh gave the vote of thanks. He said that deworming day is a nationwide health drive and it is every citizen’s job and responsibility to make it a success.
