Harare, 14 Nov. 2013 -- This was said by the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Paul Chimedza in a joint press conference he held with the WHO Representative for Zimbabwe, Dr David Okello and local media. This follows some media reports in the days following the Mass Drug Administration (MDAs) that some children were falling sick and 3 had died after taking the drugs.

Zimbabwe carried out MDAs from 28 October to 2 November and 4.7 million children were targeted for intestinal worms; while 3.1 million were targeted for bilharzia. To date, over 3 million children have received the drugs.

Dr Chimedza said the Ministry of Health and Child Care, has set up a task force to investigate the reported cases and deaths and the findings of the task force will be shared once they become available. He said preliminary reports from post mortems of 2 of the 3 reported deaths show that 1 child died of salmonella poisoning, and 1 died of diarrhea and vomiting 5 days after receiving the drugs. He said adverse events are common after drug administration, and are usually mild, and some severe ones could be coincidental and due to pre-existing conditions. “We can only know after further investigation whether the diarrhea and vomiting is associated with the drugs administered,” he said.

The WHO Representative, Dr David Okello, also reiterated that MDAs still remain WHOs recommended preventive chemotherapy for the control and eventual elimination of soil transmitted helminths and schistosomiasis. He spoke about the quality of drugs used during the campaigns saying the Ministry of Health and Child Care only acquires Medicines that are pre-qualified by WHO, and which undergo further tests by the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe. Dr Okello also said the same drugs have been used successfully for MDAs in other countries like Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda among others.

Deputy Minister Chimedza said the Ministry of Health and Child Care does not intend to harm the country’s children when they come up with such programs like MDAs. He urged the press to support the Ministry in their programs instead of alarming the public with sensationalizing adverse events. He said the problem of intestinal worms and bilharzia and the subsequent negative impact on academic performance and cognitive development of those affected has been neglected for a long time and the chronic infestation and associated complications have contributed to poverty, therefore the implementation of such MDAs forms a critical component of the national plan of action for addressing these neglected tropical diseases. He emphasized that Zimbabwe would continue with MDAs in future.

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For more information contact: juliasw [at] who.int (juliasw[at]who[dot]int)