KOZHIKODE: Health Minister K K Shylaja on Monday sought to allay fears of leptospirosis spreading its tentacles. “The leptospirosis outbreak in the state is under control and there is no cause for panic,” Shylaja told reporters after an emergency meeting of medical officers from all government hospitals in the district.
“However, for the next three weeks, the Health Department will exercise extra caution.”
Since August 15, a total of 523 patients underwent treatment for rat fever in the state, with nine deaths confirmed and 37 deaths suspected to have been caused by the bacterial infection, the Minister said. As a precautionary measure, she said, all fevers with symptoms of rat fever will be treated as leptospirosis to ensure prompt treatment and to prevent fatality among suspected patients.
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In the meeting, Shylaja said relief and rescue workers succumbed to the disease because some of them had not taken the doxycycline tablets received from the Health Department. It was decided to give the medicine to all relief workers and camp inmates. The number of deaths was low as thousands of people had taken the medicine, she said. The state has sufficient stocks of doxycycline to meet the rising demand.
In addition to the Union Government, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka helped Kerala collect the medicine.
Cautioning people of the possible spread of dengue and jaundice in the coming days, the Minister asked the local self-governments to intensify mosquito eradication efforts.