Sri Lanka to be named a Filariasis free country

Friday, 27 July 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ministry of Health says that steps will be taken to get the country certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Filariasis (philariasis) free.

A Ministry statement said that final evaluations are currently being carried out by two professors from the Washington University who are currently in Sri Lanka to study the disease prevalence.

The statement said that the countries where the percentage of Filariasis parasite presence is less than 1% are considered to have eradicated the disease and Sri Lanka has reduced this rate to 0.3%.

Filariasis parasite is transmitted from host to host mainly by mosquitoes in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Health conducted a well-planned program to eradicate the disease.