The Health Department will administer albendazole anti-worm tablets for children aged between one year and 19 years in the district on February 10 as part of observing National Deworming Day.
According to District Medical Officer Jacob Varghese, 4.27 lakh children in the district will be given the tablets during the drive.
The tablets will be given by teachers and health workers through 926 schools, 297 pre-primary schools, 24 colleges, 2,050 anganwadis, and 56 daycare centres.
The formal inauguration of tablet distribution will be held at Lourdes Public School, Kottayam.
Children studying in private nurseries and those who do not go to anganwadis have been asked to turn up at anganwadis at noon to get the tablets. Authorities requested all children who are not suffering from fever and not taking antibiotics to take the tablets without fail. Consumption of the tablet would not lead to any health hazards, the authorities said.
The tablets should be chewed with water and not be swallowed. They would remove the growth of hook worms, whip worms, and round worms in the body. These worms cause anaemia and malnutrition and curtail growth.
