RAS question
Which of the following drugs are administered under the Mass Drug Administration campaign to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis?
Correct answer: (B) DEC and Albendazole.
Under India's Mass Drug Administration campaign for eliminating lymphatic filariasis, eligible people receive DEC (Diethylcarbamazine) and Albendazole as the double-drug regimen.
Explanation
Lymphatic filariasis elimination relies on Mass Drug Administration because the strategy targets the eligible community with an annual single dose of anti-filarial medicine, rather than waiting for individual symptoms. The official elimination guidelines state that MDA administers DEC or DEC plus Albendazole, and specify that the recommended doses of DEC and Albendazole are taken together as a single dose. For eligible people, the double-drug regimen is DEC (Diethylcarbamazine) with Albendazole, excluding pregnant women, children below 2 years and seriously ill persons. Selected districts may use IDA, adding Ivermectin to DEC and Albendazole, but that does not change the double-drug answer asked here.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Chloroquine and Primaquine are not the DEC plus Albendazole anti-filarial regimen used for lymphatic-filariasis MDA.
- (C) Ivermectin appears only as an added drug in selected IDA districts, while Doxycycline is not part of the DEC plus Albendazole MDA answer.
- (D) Rifampicin and Isoniazid do not match the official MDA combination, which centres on DEC with Albendazole for the double-drug regimen.
Concept
This tests the public-health control strategy for communicable diseases, especially drug-based elimination campaigns. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan-exam science questions often ask candidates to connect national health programmes with their operational drug or vaccine regimen.