KOCHI: Despite the efforts by the Health Department, the number of people seeking fever treatment at hospitals is on the rise in the district. An alarming 1,599 people sought treatment at government hospitals here on Tuesday, in comparison to the 902 people that visited the hospitals on Monday. The number excludes those seeking treatment at private hospitals.
Fever cases were most reported from Kochi Corporation limits, Nettoor, Muvattupuzha, Asamannoor, Paravur, Mulavukad, Kadavoor, Choornikkara, Keezhmad, Edathala, Piravom, Ramamangalam, Kalamassery and Varapuzha.
“Of the 1,599 fever cases reported, three were diagnosed as dengue, while 34 were suspected dengue cases. A hepatitis case was also reported from the Kochi Corporation area. The number is high as all fevers are calculated together. All of them need not require hospital stay though. Only those in advanced stages need to be admitted,” said District Medical Officer N K Kuttappan.
On the number of fever cases reported at private hospitals, Kuttappan said though 20 hospitals in the district regularly shared the data with him, they usually did not reveal the data on fever cases.
Action plan formulated
Kochi: In view of the spurt in monsoon epidemics, District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla has formulated an action plan to prevent its spread in the district. As the first step, the Safirulla constituted a district-level monitoring committee to examine the food items served in the district. The committee needs to file a report after inspecting bakeries, slaughterhouses, fish stalls, hotels and other food supplying units. The district administration will also shut down unlicensed shops.
The committee will also check whether all workers associated with food selling units possess health cards. In cases this is not done, the owner of the firm will have to bear the expenses of getting the health cards made for employees. Safirulla has asked the committee to also file a report on wayside eateries and hotels functioning in untidy conditions.
Rush at General Hospital
The Ernakulam General Hospital, a major healthcare institution for people in the Kochi Corporation area and surrounding panchayats and municipalities, is finding it difficult to handle the heavy rush of fever patients.
“Of the 750 beds in the hospital, 20 are in the fever ward. They are insufficient to accommodate the rising number of patients,” Kuttappan said. He said another district-wise cleaning drive will be conducted on Wednesday and Thursday.