Abstract:

Background: Filariasis leads to irreversible chronic manifestations, which are responsible for social stigma besides causing considerable economic loss and severe physical disability to the affected individuals. Mass drug administration (MDA) against filariasis means administration of DEC tablets to all people (excluding children < 2 years, pregnant women, seriously ill persons) in endemic areas once-in-a-year. It aims at cessation of transmission of lymphatic filariasis.

Objective: To assess the coverage and compliance of MDA in Bijapur district during the campaign November 2008.

Results: Twelve clusters including 4urban & 8 rural clusters surveyed, among which 1830eligible population were interviewed. The coverage rate was 86% with variation across different areas. The compliance with drug consumption was only 46 %. Only 41.4% of study population was aware of MDA activity.

Conclusion: Though the coverage was 86%, the compliance was only 46%, which is much below the target of 85%. Main reason for noncompliance was lack of adequate information .Effective drug delivery strategies such as proper area demarcation, repeat house visits have to be done to improve coverage. Training of drug distributors to improve interpersonal communication & effective IEC activities are to be emphasized to improve compliance & achieve elimination of filariasis.

Keywords: Mass drug administration, Lymphatic filariasis, DEC, Coverage, compliance.

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