A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Kerala High Court against the State government's move to mass administer Diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) tablets to 2.58 core people in the state, as part of a WHO -Central Government initiative to eradicate filariasis, it is learnt.

According to sources, one N.Krishna Pillai, an Ayurvedic doctor from Thiruvananthapuam approached the court yesterday citing the drug has many side effects, and it should not be administered to majority of the state population as the disease is confined only to some parts of the state.

The state Government so far has neither conducted elaborate studies and surveys nor ensured adequate medical supervision for administering the drug. Hence, the Government should be directed by the court to refrain from the move, demanded in the petition. The court was likely to take up the case, early next week, said sources.

It may be noted that the state had postponed the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programme scheduled on June 5 in 11 districts of the state, said to be for problems in the distribution chain. Many NGOs, cultural leaders and experts opine it was documented in scientific journals that DEC could cause adverse reactions like fever, headache and nausea, allergic inflammation of the skin, encephalitis, retinal hemorrhage etc. On the contrary, the Health Department sources and a section of experts, including the State IMA chapter, maintain he drug is safe for an MDA programme.