World Scabies Program Fiji’s MDA intervention to help reduce the spread of scabies

In a mission to reduce the percentage and prevent the spread of scabies in Fiji, the World Scabies Program (WSP) Organisation Fiji has taken the initiative of introducing the Mass Drug Administration (MDA).

This involves giving treatment to an entire population or every person in a geographical area due to the high prevalence cases of certain diseases which means giving treatment to all eligible people whether they are infected or not.

WSP Fiji Research Officer Aminiasi Koroi says there was 6.1 percent of the Fijian population that was infected with scabies before they conducted the MDA which is a surprising number for the organisation.

He says with the intervention that they are currently conducting, they are trying to reduce the percentage to less than 2% which is the threshold that the World Health Organisation has guided any country around the world to eliminate scabies.

Koroi says once they reach this target, there is a surety that it can be managed by the nurses in their settings.

WSP Fiji Program Manager Aminiasi Tavui says this MDA intervention is very important because it will help in achieving the reduction target and also prevent the spread of this disease.

He says this reduction target can only be achieved if people cooperate and participate in taking the 2 MDA doses.

Tavui says the reason as to why there has to be two doses is to totally eliminate the mites and its eggs present in the body. He says after the first dose, the mites that have matured will be eliminated but the eggs will still be present and after seven days, the eggs that will hatch and that is where the second dose comes in handy to clear them out of the body.