The Department of Health Center for Health Development in the Ilocos Region (DOH-CHD-1) targets to involve some 1.9 million children and teens aged one to 19 years old in the region in the National Deworming Month this January.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, DOH-CHD-1 medical officer Dr. Rheuel Bobis said the deworming activity will be community-based as the school-based approach is still not available due to the ongoing pandemic.

In coordination with the barangay health workers, Bobis said, the health care workers will go to the target individuals to give the Albendazole drug in dosages appropriate for the age of the recipients.

“The health care workers will go house-to-house to administer the drug. The deworming activity is done annually, every January and July, to prevent infection among the children and youth caused by a parasitic worm,” he said.

He added the DOH has already allocated the number of Albendazole doses to the Provincial Health Offices of the provinces in the region since last December.

Bobis said it is important to deworm children as parasitic worms have effects on their physical and mental health.

“There was a study saying that those with parasitic worms have lower intelligence quotient,” he said.

He added the parasitic worm shares with the nutrition of its host, thus the body does not fully absorb its needed nutrients.

“We are encouraging them eligible recipients to participate and their parents to involve their children in this activity,” Bobis said. (PNA)