News Section | Indian Health
After chikungunya, kala-azar and typhus hit Kerala
July 17 : Even as Kerala struggles to come out of the grip of chikungunya, the health minister Tuesday told the state assembly here that cases of kala-azar and typhus have been confirmed in the state.
“In certain parts of Kollam, Kozhikode and Thrissur, kala-azar has been identified. A child has died of typhus fever in Kozhikode and suspected cases of scrub typhus disease have been spotted at three places in Thiruvananthapuram,” said Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi.
“Necessary precautionary measures have been taken to see that kala-azar does not spread. And to see if this has spread to other people in the affected areas, we have asked for a supply of testing kits from the National Institute of Virology.
“We have also asked the Kozhikode unit of the National Institute of Communicable Disease to conduct a study to see if typhus fever has spread,” the minister said.
Kala-azar is caused by a parasite. The disease spreads through the bite of certain species of sand fly and is characterised by intermittent fever, anaemia, and enlargement of the spleen and often of the liver. The treatment is similar to that for malaria.
Typhus is caused by louse-borne bacteria. Severe headache, high fever, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and skin rash are some of the symptoms of the disease.
Sreemathi also said that mosquitoes that spread yellow fever and west Nile fever have been found in Kerala but so far no cases of these diseases have been reported.
This new announcement by the health minister comes at a time when according to her, 173 people have died of chikungunya in the state this year.
However, a team of health experts from New Delhi, who surveyed the affected districts of Kerala, has confirmed that chikungunya is on the decline. It also ruled out the prevalence of a ‘tomato fever’ as was reported by a section of the media.
The “chikungunya virus has not mutated and the disease is showing a declining trend. In 18 months, this virus can be fully eradicated through vector control measures,” said Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Opposition leader Oomen Chandy has, meanwhile, criticised the government for failing to prevent the outbreak of diseases in the state. “Though the minister claims 173 people have died, the truth is that 562 people have died on account of fever. It is here that the government has failed.
“For the past one year this government has been saying that it is coming out with a new medical insurance scheme and nothing has happened,” Chandy said.(IANS)
Disclaimer: Bioscholar is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The articles are based on peer reviewed research, and discoveries/products mentioned in the articles may not be approved by the regulatory bodies.