To improve health and nutrition-level of children across the district, all the children in the age group of 1 to 19 years enrolled in Aanganwadies and schools will be administered deworming medicine, under the National Deworming campaign.

This will also include children of juvenile homes and rehab centers, informed AK Pathak Civil Surgeon Bokaro.

This campaign will be inaugurated at Kasturba Vidyalaya Chas on 3 September. Under the campaign there is a target to provide deworming medicine- Albendazole tablets to nearly 8,68,443 children in about 1582 government schools, 647 private schools and 2256 Anganbari centers on 4 September, said CS.

Deworming campaign is jointly being conducted by Women and Child Development Department, Health Department and Technical Education Department.

In schools, enrolled children will be given deworming medicine by their teachers.

In Aanganwadies centers, registered non-registered children, who do not go to

school, will be given deworming medicine by Aanganwadi workers.

“Those children who will miss out the dose during on 4 September for any reason will get it on a mop-up round on 11 September,” added Pathak.

Department officials informed that worm infection adversely affects children’s health in many ways.

Worms consume nutrients from tissues of the human body, which leads to the deficiency of nutrients in children, hampering their mental and physical growth.

Albendazole is a safe deworming medicine for both children and adults. Children with excessive infection may experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dehydration, stomach pain and fatigue, after consumption of the medicine. Such situations can be easily managed by school teachers or Aanganwadi workers, said the Civil Surgeon.