China to be Officially Designated Free of Lymphatic Filariasis

China to be Officially Designated Free of Lymphatic Filariasis

March 29, 2006

    SUVA, Fiji, March 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- China is
slated to be officially declared free of the debilitating
disease lymphatic filariasis, 15 years ahead of the global
elimination target of 2020.

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040610/CNTH001LOGO )

    China submitted today its application for verification
of the elimination of the transmission of the disease to
the World Health Organization at the meeting in Suva, Fiji,
of the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. 
China is the first country in the world to eliminate one of
the most debilitating and disfiguring diseases, and the
first ever to eliminate a parasitic disease.  

    Following China, the Republic of Korea is expected to
be the second country to achieve elimination of the
disease.  Final compiling of data is underway, prior to the
submission of an application by the Korean Government to WHO
for verification of elimination.

    "The success of China and soon that of the
Republic of Korea are proof that elimination of lymphatic
filariasis is possible if given the necessary levels of
political support, adequate funding and public
commitment," said Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO Regional
Director for the Western Pacific, speaking in Fiji.

    In the Pacific, communities are working towards the
goal of elimination with 2010 as the target-10 years ahead
of the global mark.  If that target is achieved, the
Pacific, covering 17 countries and areas, will be the first
subregion in the world to eliminate lymphatic filariasis.

    Other countries in the Western Pacific Region --
Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam -- have
active programmes of mass drug administration that should
enable them to reach the global elimination goal.  However,
the lack of adequate funding is one of major obstacles
facing most countries engaged in filariasis elimination.

    The disease, which causes severe and debilitating
swelling, particularly of the limbs, is caused by filarial
parasites.  The parasites are transmitted to humans by
mosquitoes.  The adult parasites lodge in the lymphatic
vessels where they cause inflammation, blocking the
vessels.  This blocks drainage of fluid from the limb,
causing massive swelling which is usually progressive and
permanent.  However, both chronic disease and transmission
can be prevented if infection is treated early.

    About 1.1 billion people are at risk of infection, with
an estimated 120 million people infected, the majority of
which are in Asia and the Pacific.

    For more information, please contact: 

     Dr Kevin Palmer, Regional Adviser in Malaria, 
     Vectorborne and Other Parasitic Diseases
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  World Health Organization