The World Health Organization said on Thursday that Kenya could eliminate the bilharzia disease burden by the end of 2017.

Country Officer in Charge of HIV Dr. Rex Mpazanje told journalists in Nairobi that roughly 11 million people in Kenya are at risk of the tropical disease, out of which 5.5 million are school-age children.

"However, due to concerted government efforts to disrupt the live cycle of the parasite, Kenya could be bilharzia free by 2017, " Mpazanje said during an event where Merck donated 3.52 million doses of the Praziquantel drug in order to help Kenya roll out its national bilharzia treatment exercise which will begin in January 2013.

Merck Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stefan Oschmann said the donation worth 360,000 US dollars is part of a joint WHO program on bilharzia.

He added Kenya is one of the countries in Africa that will benefit from the project that began in 2007. He added that Merck will donate 250 million tablets a year until the bilharzia is eliminated.

The Pharmaceutical firm has already donated 100 million tablets of the Praziquantel drug in a campaign aimed at eradicating the disease globally. He said bilharzia remains a global public health concern with sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected.

In fact, according to the WHO, Kenya is one of the 11 countries in eastern and southern Africa with a high burden of bilharzia, which is also known as Schistosomiasis.

The country officer noted Kenya is also one of the pioneer countries to develop an integrated plan for the control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD).

Mpazanje said one of the ways to eradicate the disease is by clearing stagnate swamps. "This destroys the breeding ground for the parasite," the WHO official said. He added the Praziquantel drug is 90 percent effective in eliminating the disease from humans.

Ministry Health Permanent Secretary Mark Bor said the Kenya's bilharzia endemic regions include coastal, lower eastern as well as the lake Victoria Basin. He added the disease causes loss of productivity and therefore exacerbates poverty levels in the country.

"It also causes disfigurement and disability leading to stigma and social discrimination," he said. The PS noted the fight against disease requires enormous resources, which the government alone cannot mobilize.

"The ministry of health therefore believes that partnership is the key vehicle through which all stakeholders will participate to achieve the common goal," he said.

He urged members of the public including school age children to observe hygiene in order to avoid the worms.

Ministry Health Director of Public Health Dr. Sharif Shahnaz said Kenya's strategic plan for the control of bilharzia identifies school based interventions as the best method to control the disease.

"Already 4.6 million of the targeted 5 million school age children have been de-wormed for the common intestinal worms using Albendazole," the director said. Shahnaz added the country has already established a repository of data on bilharzia.

He said the government is also conducting an awareness campaign so that children don't walk in swamps bare feet.

"Some of the practices that can prevent infection include hand washing, cleaning of fruits before eating as well as proper disposal of human waste," the ministry of health official said.

"The debilitating disease affects the urinary tract and leading to an abnormal bladder," he said. "The worm enters the body through the barefoot and moves up the body through the blood system," he said.

Shahnaz added the Kenya Medical Research Institute is currently hosting the regional training center for the control of parasitic diseases including bilharzia.

Ministry Health Head of the Department of Family Health Dr. Anna Wamae said national school based de-worming exercise will target 1.5 million children.

"The dosages per child will be administered according to the recipient's height," she said. "The exercise will then move to the general community," Wamae said.

She noted the government will be conducting a de-worming exercise every year as the parasite can remain in the blood system for a long time without presenting symptoms.