COIMBATORE: Migrant workers from northern India are the most vulnerable to infection induced deaths especially affecting the brain, according to doctors. Coimbatore has a very high concentration of migrant labour force and mortality in such cases are alarmingly high, say specialists at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
“Almost 90% of migrants from north who are admitted to the Intensive Medical Care Unit (IMCU) have infections like sepsis, viral fever, viral hemorrhagic fever, cerebral malaria, malaria, leptospirosis, etc which result in encephalitis (inflammation of brain).
The mortality of such cases is high because it’s the brain that is getting affected,” explains Manohari Ramachandran, heading the IMCU at CMCH. According to her it is more among men than women. Manohari deduces that this could be because of various factors like being home and compromising on everything from food, hygiene and medical care.