Health Ministry has said that 14 States have reported reduction in prevalence of parasitic intestinal worm infection also known as Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases (STH). <br />''<br />''The Ministry said, while 9 States have shown substantial reduction in worm prevalence in the STH follow up prevalence survey. <br />''<br />''These States are Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. <br />''<br />''The Ministry said, Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases is a significant public health concern mostly in low resource settings. <br />''<br />''These are known to have detrimental effects on children's physical growth and well being and can cause anemia and under-nutrition.<br />'' <br />''Since its launch in 2015, the National Deworming Day (NDD), a flagship program of the Ministry of Health is run as a biannual single day programme implemented through the platforms of schools and anganwadis. <br />''<br />''Under the programme, Albendazole tablet, approved by World Health Organization is used for treatment of intestinal worms in children and adolescents as part of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programmes globally. <br />''<br />''<br />''The Ministry said, in the last round of deworming earlier this year in the country, 11 crore children and adolescents were administered Albendazole tablet across 25 States and Union Territories.<br />'' <br />''The Ministry said, to assess the exact burden of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases in India, the government appointed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as the nodal agency to coordinate and conduct nationwide baseline STH mapping. <br />''<br />''<br />''In collaboration with partners and government agencies, NCDC completed the baseline STH mapping across the country by the end of 2016. <br />''<br />''The Ministry said, the data showed varied prevalence ranging from 12.5 per cent  in Madhya Pradesh to 85 per cent  in Tamil Nadu.<br />'' <br />''The Health Ministry recently initiated follow-up prevalence surveys led by NCDC and partners to evaluate the impact of the consistently implemented high coverage NDD programme. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The Ministry said, so far the follow-up surveys are completed in 14 States and all 14 States have shown reduction in the follow up survey compared to the baseline prevalence survey.</span><br />