Battling an ‘orphaned’ disease

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is the second leading cause of permanent, long-term disability in the world. Identified as a major health problem since 1907, it is a severely disabling and disfiguring parasitic disease caused by thread-like filarial worms Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi that live in the human lymphatic system.

Over 120 million people are afflicted with LF and over 40 million of them are seriously incapacitated. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 1.2 billion people at risk in about 80 countries.

The Department of Health (DOH) reports that almost 650,000 Filipinos in 39 endemic provinces in Northern Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Western Mindanao, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, Central Mindanao, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Caraga region are afflicted with the disease and 24 million more are at risk.

Yet despite these alarming figures, LF is considered an uncommon and "orphaned" disease.

In most urban and first-class cities and municipalities, there is little public knowledge of LF, except for its physical manifestations like swelling of limbs (elephantiasis) or genitalia (hydrocoele). Endemic in 76 low-income fourth to sixth class municipalities, the treatment of LF was not prioritized by most government programs in the past.

Now, Health Secretary Dr. Francisco Duque III and officials of the Coalition for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (CELF) are steadily creating much-needed attention for the "orphaned" disease.

Recently, Duque and other health officials held a press conference in Koronadal, South Cotabato to drum up attention on LF and the LF elimination program of DOH in Mindanao where 56 percent of LF-endemic provinces are located.

"Our objective is to raise awareness about lymphatic filariasis which is actually very easy to treat and in fact we have had very successful accomplishments with regard to its prevention in other regions of our country such as Region 5," Duque said.

To accomplish this objective, Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, director of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said they are doing TV and radio advocacy and health promotion campaigns to talk about LF, even producing a documentary on the disease so people can better understand it.

Oliveros said they are also planning to hold a "donor’s night" wherein they will invite and ask private companies and organizations to support social health education campaigns as well as sponsor the surgical operations of LF patients with disabilities. They are also set to establish more local CELF units to better coordinate efforts to eliminate LF in endemic provinces.

Recently, Duque led the kick-off activities to eliminate LF in the Socsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) by conducting mass drug administrations (MDA) in the municipalities of Kiamba in Sarangani and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

LF can be eliminated through annual MDAs of albendazole plus diethylcarbamazine to residents two years old and above.

To reach the goal of elimination, 85 to 90 percent coverage rates during MDAs need to be sustained for at least five to six years.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Philippines has pledged to supply albendazole tablets until 2010, or until LF is officially declared eliminated.

To date, the pharmaceutical company has already turned over 58.84 million tablets, benefiting at least 14 million Filipinos.